


Bury Me Face Down

by Heartofhubris



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Accidental Voyeurism, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Assassination Attempt(s), Attempted Kidnapping, Character Death, Cheating, Death, Emilie Agreste Hate, F/M, Gun Violence in Later Chapters, James Bond References, Light BDSM, Mentioned Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Penis In Vagina Sex, Torture, Travel, Voyeurism, fuck emilie juice, genre typical violence, its just a spy au, slight crossover, slight dubcon, spy AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:34:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 39,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23995357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Heartofhubris/pseuds/Heartofhubris
Summary: Nathalie knew what she wanted. She wanted to protect her nation, and keep her heart held close. She didn't want to fall in love with a man with white hair and a body that had killed.Yet, from the moments that she saw him across the courtyard, Nathalie had it bad. The real question was, would he be her downfall?
Relationships: Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth/Nathalie Sancoeur
Comments: 84
Kudos: 64





	1. Dark Star

**Author's Note:**

> ok just a couple notes:  
> There will be slight character bashing  
> I don't know jack shit about politics  
> Smut chapters will have a warning at the start but youngins plz run far away. There will be a 50/50 chance the chapter will have adult content.  
> You dont need to know jack shit about spies, but James bond crossover is randomly put in  
> Chapter notes will have the song the chapter is named after. Usually best read w that song.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dark Star- James Young

The first thing that really hit her was the smell. Or, more accurately, the lack of one. Every time her door opened, it seemed as if the musk had gotten stronger, the heat of a human lacking in this beautiful apartment. She really should have gotten a smaller apartment, but it was much too late now. 

Nathalie leaned down to set the cat carrier down. It was one of the only items she had in her possession at that moment, and she could hear her pet starting to grumble at her, unhappy with being in the carrier. Her mind went back to when they had met her neighbor, roughly two years ago, when Nathalie had gotten this place, with her raise. It couldn’t be denied that she was beautiful, with golden hair that was growing out from a pixie, usually let loose around her face. She was just slightly shorter than Nathalie, but always kind. 

“He was wonderful, as always,” her neighbor had told her, with a smile on her lips. She was much nicer than Nathalie could have ever hoped for in this breathtaking, beautiful complex. She felt as though everyone around her were too rich to care about their neighbor, only seeming to care about beautiful furs and pearls that really needed to be restrung. 

“Thank you. How much do I owe you?” She opened up her billfold to pull out the amount she knew would be said. 

“Three nights, so thirty pounds. You’re lucky you provide food.” 

“Oh, I know,” Nathalie responded, smiling at her. “You are a godsend, you know that?” 

“You sing my praises too highly, you know.” 

She heard Alcaprapth starting to chatter at her, so she pulled him out of the carrier, and into her arms. 

“Did you have a good time, Al?” she asked him, itching his favorite spot under his chin, the one she never really told anyone about. He stopped yelling his secrets of what he had seen and what had been done, in favor of the pleasure Nathalie could offer him. One day, maybe she would be able to talk with him in his tongue, or he in hers, but she knew that was a very distant pipe dream at this point. She walked around the apartment, checking her normal spots of entry, anywhere someone would be able to break in. She didn’t find anything out of place, nothing tripped, so she took her jacket off. She made sure it was hung up, every little bit of her pattern methodical. She was very good at keeping herself to a high standard, after all.

Nathalie stretched on her way to her room, breathing out softly. It was too quiet in her apartment, as always. If she wasn’t gone for such long stretches of time, and if she didn’t have people who would randomly show up, Nathalie would most likely have a roommate. An absurd dream, however. 

She was quick to change into only a tee and sweatpants, something vastly more comfortable than the suit she had been wearing all day. 

She returned to the kitchen, to hear Al talking some more, and she pulled a cup down, pouring some gin into a glass. The liquor was in no way good, but she wasn’t going to be drinking for taste so much as she was for the reflection. She clicked the stereo remote, starting the music, and the gentle tones were soon flowing through her rooms, and she moved to her chair, watching out the window. 

The liquor down her throat didn’t really help her much. She found herself falling back into the emotions that she always hated to get, swirling the liquor in the glass, thinking over this past mission. 

There was no good reason that this stranger should get into her mind this much. There was no reason that she even should be thinking of him, either. She had only met him three times, and yet, each time was as fresh as the first time. Though her mind was running into every direction, she was somehow able to, and forced to, remember the moments with him. 

Italy was just as beautiful and steeped in history as she had expected. Beautiful stones everywhere, people yelling and offering perfect cover, and best of all, a courtyard attached to her hotel. She had been there, smoking a pipe and reading a book, things she never found enough time to do on her own time. She was able to spare just enough time here, only partly paying attention to the story on her paper, and more concentrated on the sounds of the night. 

Yet, when she looked up to ponder the words, and listen for any sounds of something new, she couldn’t help her eyes landing directly on him. She publicly blamed the fact he had such pale hair, compared to such a dark suit. She felt her breath catch, everything temporarily disappearing from her mind. A very dangerous thing, she knew, but every inch of his face she was able to see was too perfect not to commit to memory. He was drinking something that had to be stiff. 

She didn’t intentionally rub her thumb over her lower lip when she was looking at him. Nothing she did had been intentional. 

Nathalie should have turned tail that second, abandoning any thought of being with, or even near him. She knew that she should have tapped her pipe out, walked inside her room, and closed the curtains. 

Instead, she allowed herself to sit across from him, not at all saying a word, until he stood up, and walked into his room. She had finished her pipe ages ago, but she was much too entranced with the thoughts that would be equivalent to treason, instead. She had found herself thinking over him until she had forced herself to fall asleep, unwilling to think of how his body would feel, pressed against her back and her thighs, and just how he would move her body. 

Russia was much more beautiful than she had imagined. It was a little silly, she knew, to go in with some kind of preconception about the nation. Usually, looking at the photos would offer one a good idea of just what a place was, but Russia had enough press to disrupt that idea. Thankfully, she wasn’t even close to the capital, so though she knew that there was some risk of being monitored, she didn’t let it stick in her mind more than it should. 

She had almost forgotten about him when she saw him. Russia did deserve some of the media that it received. The KGB wasn’t as dormant as they wanted everyone to think, either. 

After all, neither she nor he would have been there. DSGE and SIS were supposed to remove these departments ages ago, and she still saw them in such positions. Murder may be illegal, but if it was done in the right name, anyone could spin it to a good thing. She knew that there was little that could ever clear the blood off their hands. 

Many people didn’t really realize just how beautiful Russia was, and how advanced most places in the world were, here included. The skyscrapers were everywhere in the heart of this town. They’d both been up high on the same roof, clearly surprised that this had happened. She didn’t say a single word, however, and he cocked his brow at her. It was obvious what he was asking her in the silence. Will she be killing him? Would she be putting a bullet through his head? 

Her answer was slow but firm. A single shake of her head, more obvious than if she had yelled it at him. Not tonight. They both would be surviving the other, this time. It was risky, that was for sure. Yet, she still went ahead and opened the gun case, assembling the machine with practiced ease she knew she smoothed even more since he was there. It was already obvious that she was comfortable with the weapon. She saw him move down and assemble his gun, and they both stood up, when they had their guns done, exactly at the same time. 

Their movements were as synchronized as dancers. It was clear they were going to be shooting the same person. They lifted their guns at the same moments, aimed, and shot. Their silencers helped the shot sound only once, with a lack of an echo. And after a few moments, they both got up, quickly taking their guns down, wiping them down in case they needed to ditch it. They didn’t want the government to get their fingerprints, after all. Yet, she heard the door open, her head flicking up. He winked and blew her a kiss, and he was gone. She was shortly behind him, but she wasn’t quite quick enough to get to him in time. 

The dead bodies had attracted a lot of attention, but with their wounds going through the man’s body and not the head, people were momentarily confused about the situation. 

She took the moments to leave. 

* * *

Nothing about him should have really stuck out to her. He wasn’t special. She had found so many other agents. And yet, his face, his voice, everything was fresh in her mind. Not even the liquor was dulling just how beautiful his eyes, how intense his hair color was in the dark nights, and she had just found his soft French accent, that past night. Every moment of him, from his obscenely cocky, knowing grin, to his lithe body, and simple mannerisms, endeared him to her. It was clear that she was never going to have herself back, without him in her mind. 

She really hadn’t expected to go to Norway anytime soon in her life. She’d never been there, and there was nothing that really ever happened that they needed to be concerned with. Until they had had a break in a case. A man who was trafficking drugs through the Norse countries, causing more problems than they really wanted. A favour was called in, and she found herself being faced with going on a mission that should have taken her a few weeks at the bare minimum. It was only day eight, however, when she arrived at the club she knew he would be at. 

She just dressed more than she should have. Eyes had followed her more than normal, and she knew Q should have gotten her a different outfit, something that actually offered her some clothing, instead of fitting into the club scene. The material made every curve stand out just right, and though she knew she looked more desirable than any woman in this club, it didn’t come naturally to her to allow everyone to look over her body. At least she did have something on, she supposed. 

But this animal’s eyes ate her up longer than she wanted, and though she was supposed to spend a little longer there, she knew he had taken interest in her. Her goal wasn’t to kill him, but to find evidence on him. 

She knew that there were smarter ways to have handled the situation. She knew she shouldn’t have been stupid, that she should have gone a different route, as though she was a scared woman who didn’t want to get hurt, and who followed the well-lit roads, back to her hotel a few blocks away. But she needed the cover of the alleyways, and the dim-lit roads, trying to shake him. 

The click of her heels, even as she was trying to quiet them, were too loud. His footfalls were near-silent, and she felt the arm wrap around her arms and torso, the cloth moving over her mouth, and she could instantly smell the chemical. 

Her training kicked in, but it was clear he couldn’t feel her, with the drugs he was on. Apparently, no one had told him not to get high on his own stash. 

One would have hoped he was much smarter than that. 

Yet, even holding her breath, and her struggles getting more wild, she wasn’t able to shake him off. The edges of her vision were getting dark, and her eyes rolled back for a moment before she tried one last effort. 

The cloth dropped away before she was able to do so, however, and she instantly fell to her hands and knees, gulping in lungfuls of air, the blood rushing through her ears. She didn’t allow herself to be down for too long, and she got up to see the man already on the ground, with Gabriel standing over him. 

She was glad to not see a gun, but she was fairly scared to see Gabriel land a particularly nasty kick to this man’s chest. 

“You’re lucky I don’t have my weapons,” Gabriel hissed to the man. Nathalie instantly tapped into her knowledge of French, and grabbed his arm, pulling him back. 

“Stop, please. I need you to stop!” Her words seemed to get to him, as one more kick, and he backed away. He looked at her with something deeper in his eyes, a hand moving to her shoulder. He ignored the coughing, his words coming out in English. It appeared that he was listening to her as well. 

“Are you okay?” he asked, a hand moving to her cheek. Yet, as much as she wanted to push into his hand, she only let it stay for a few moments. Was she okay? No. Her cover had just been blown, and she wouldn’t be able to complete her mission. Other than that, she was shaky, nervous, and unsure of herself. She didn’t get scared, really, but she did get worried, and since she wasn’t able to see him, she was more than a bit worried that her skills were lacking in too many areas. “I don’t think that you should have done that,” she finally said, looking up at him. 

His voice was so gentle, so sweet, she couldn’t help looking up at him with concern. He really wouldn’t do if he was going to grow attached to her. 

“I’m in my free time.” 

“I should leave,” Nathalie responded, her voice soft, more than slightly worried about the emotions that were starting to crop up in her body. 

It was hard not to, as he had just put himself on the line just for her sake. It was hard not to find something wonderful in him. 

“Will I find you again,” Gabriel said, his hand now on her upper arm. Not keeping her there, just a second of support. 

“I’m sure you will,” she replied, making sure her clothes were alright. “You’ve found me three times now. Things do seem to fall in our favor.” She tapped his lips, and then pulled away, and winked. It was a sly move, she couldn’t deny that. “And next time, as a girl to dance.” 

She made sure to look at every instance of a minx as she walked away, hoping to put some kind of imprint in him of more than just a woman who needed to be helped. 

When she was back in the sleazy hotel, however, she pressed back to the door, taking a deep breath. Her legs were shaking, something that hadn’t been a concern of hers for some time. She had long since shaken any kind of show of fear or concern, any kind of worry or fear. She had long since accepted her death. She knew that she was going to be okay, and if she wasn’t, well, she shouldn’t worry about it. 

But it took her moments more to realize just what was happening. She wasn’t shaking from any kind of fear. That much she knew. 

Her deep breaths were barely helping her calm down. 

Her phone was bought out, and one of the two numbers in the phone was messaged. She hated every letter that she used, but her training dictated it. She typed the one phrase that called everything off, that allowed her to get out immediately. 

“Lollypop.” 

* * *

She really hadn’t felt anything like this in ages. Nathalie was not particularly concerned that she hadn’t, but the shock made the gin in her glass shake. Her eyes snapped to it the second she came out of the memory, however. She set the glass down, looking at the lights out in the city. The clock showed she had already been sitting here for at least three hours. Al was sleeping peacefully at her side, occasionally purring. 

She hadn’t felt an emotion like this since before her father had passed away, and her mother shortly after had disowned her. 

It wasn’t so much that she was scared of these emotions, but he could easily turn to her enemy if the situation required it. Could she pull the trigger on her savor if her country demanded it? 

She knew that this was more than just the emotions of the saved to her savior. She had those emotions for the person who recruited her to SIS. These were vastly different. She grabbed her glass again, and downed it, before pouring another glass of gin. These thoughts were too much for her, right now. She really needed something else to focus on, something that wasn’t the man who was going to haunt her dreams tonight.


	2. I Would Be Your Slave

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adult content warning on this chapter  
> I Would Be Your Slave, David Bowie

In the world of espionage, certain truths held true. Gabriel had learned that very quickly in his years of being an agent. Perhaps the years that he had been so had imparted some good pieces of information.

He was well aware that if anyone had a single piece of knowledge on another, it could be used against that person. In his world, full of pain and people who wish to hurt you, you were forced to know everything that could possibly hurt you in any circumstance. Every intimate detail could secure your safety, or ensure your destruction. 

Every single lie could have possibly said always haunted him, and came back to his mind. Every single truth, as well. He didn’t know what he would do if Adrien was lost to him. He rarely showed it, knowing that if something did happen to him, it would be much easier for Adrien to move on with his life if he didn’t know his father, or what he was. He loved his son more than he ever could have imagined. He was his last connection to Emilie.

Gabriel was careful when he picked up his son. He was more than protective of him, more than he ever had been before of anything. 

He knew his back had a target on it, regardless of the governments he had toppled once upon a time. Stigma knew about him. They were well aware of his actions. The question really came into play was if they were still watching him, so many years after he had found his wife’s mutilated body in his kitchen. No one had ever thought twice about Gabriel’s accusations to Stigma. It had been pinned on a local pimp who had been hurting women for more years than he’d cared to admit. 

He just wished she had the knives he had given her on her when it had happened. Maybe she could have protected herself better, or even injured the other person, and they would have gotten his DNA. 

Yet, he had no proof it wasn’t that man. He knew it could be anyone. 

But the symbol that was carved into the inside of a cupboard had cemented it. 

He shook the memories from his mind as he showed up at the bakery, however. He had been fortunate indeed to have met these lovely people. After a few baking classes, he had confessed that he would be leaving the country for a while, due to work, so he would have to cancel the rest of the classes he had paid for, for him and Adrien. They were all too eager to take Adrien in, instead of allowing someone else to care for him. 

Gabriel had done more than his due diligence, of course. He had access to the entirety of the French government’s servers. He was going to make sure these two were kind. To everything he found, they were. Nothing worse than a parking ticket, once. They ran a very successful bakery just after they got married, and Gabriel had a certain appreciation for them. 

“Adrien,” Gabriel said, taking his son’s bag from him, seeing them just slightly behind. Their daughter was following after them, trying to get one last glance at Adrien before he left. It was clear that she did have the worst crush on his son, but he never said a word about it, nor did her parents. He had a wide smile on his face, every instance a loving father returning from his work travels. 

“Hello, Father,” Adrien said, a small sweets box in his arms. It was extremely common for Adrien to end up with their rejects, unwilling to sell items that were subpar to paying customers. 

“Did you have a good time?” 

“Yes, father! Mr. Dupain and Ms. Cheng let Marinette and I make croissants.” 

“And he made sure to pick up at himself, as well,” Sabine chimed in, Tom’s arm wrapping around her shoulders. 

He couldn’t help feeling a pang of emotion to seeing the very small action, and he looked away fairly quickly, instead looking at his son. 

“Well, are you ready to go?” 

“Yes, Father.” He looked past Sabine and Tom and waved to their daughter. “I’ll see you at school tomorrow.” 

“Yea-” she stumbled over her words, as Gabriel turned to her parents.

“Thank you, again, for doing this for me. And if you ever, ever need something, please don’t hesitate to call me, or my work.” He had already explained what to do, what code to use, and they would have their problems solved. They had no clue how he was so well connected, but they didn’t say a word about it, ever. “Come on, Adrien,” he said, his arm moving to his shoulder for a second, to guide him out. 

As they started to walk to their apartment, not too far from where they were already, his son was talking about everything that had happened whilst his father was gone. 

Sabine had often spoken about just how well Adrien and their daughter Marinette got along, and Gabriel had a slight thought that their daughter wasn’t the only one who had a crush. He was sure that in time, they would both realize it, in their own time. That much, Gabriel was sure of. It was hard for two people to keep their emotions in check. 

Perhaps he would actually try and make some croissants with Adrien tomorrow. He could email Sabine that night, and ask for the recipe. 

When they arrived home, Gabriel let his son run off to his room, as he yelled he wanted Thai. Gabriel already knew his son’s order, the same as every time he got home. Gabriel poured himself a gin, thinking of the woman that he kept seeing, every so often. He was more than a little excited to have seen her. His mind started to travel as he put in their normal order, tipping on the app more than he normally would. 

They knew when he got home at this point, and when he was in a good mood from a good mission, even if they just thought that it was a good business trip with hookers. He’d never correct them. 

Romania had been beautiful. He knew even then that he could hope with her, if only subconsciously. He didn’t even yet know her name, but that night had been more than he ever could have hoped. 

He hated that he had started to fall for her, with the little bit of information that he had gotten from interacting with her. He normally went for a vastly different type of person. He knew they were the same, however. 

Broken merchandise. There was too much that they both had done to think of it any other way. Murders, injuries, the scars that they showed on their bodies were the easiest ones to deal with. It was the scars on their souls that broke them, that shattered their expectations more than he ever could have imagined.

They had been in a tiny little cabin. He hadn’t learned her name that day, either, only her alias. He didn’t much mind, as at least he finally had something to call her. And he knew that she had enjoyed him calling her Mayura. It certainly added a level of anonymity, of risk, at last having a nickname, yet lacking her actual name. Their governments at least tried. 

He remembered sitting across from her on the floor, the room barely big enough for them both to sit with their legs stretched out. He remembered her loading her gun, each with a cloth. 

“Surely you do this, don’t you?” she asked, a brow cocking. She had caught his eyes on her, and the resulting cocking of her lips was barely there, but still obvious. 

“What do you mean?”

“You need to clean off the fingerprints, so if you aren’t able to pick up the shells, they don’t have a single attempt of DNA testing you, Hawk.” Yet, she let him drop the subject without his response, once she moved onto the knives in her cases. Each was wiped down just as the bullets had been, meticulous in every movement. He couldn’t help fall for her just a little bit more. 

And when he saw the rain of fire against her hair that night, perfectly in sync with the other, moving as though they had for years together at this point. 

Every single movement that she offered him was cemented into his mind. 

He finished with the order of Thai, finally, but his mind kept moving to the next time. 

It hadn’t been a planned mission if they were honest. It really was a coincidence that he found her, their missions just so happening to be in the same area, at the same targets. They knew that night would provide them with only one bed, and Gabriel wasn’t that concerned with the fact. They had decided, with just how unseasonably warm it was, to sleep in the nude. It vastly helped, even though their window had to be closed. 

His fingers couldn’t help running over her side. Her name was Moria, this time. He thought that it was a beautiful name, if she had to go by another one. One day, he really hoped to be able to moan out her name. 

He took a deep breath of her hair, her body against his in the most comfortable way. His body was pressed just right against hers, and he could smell the old sweat, gunpowder, death, and dirt.

It fit her perfectly. She was already asleep, not feeling his lips on the nape of her neck, and he wished he had met her in any other circumstance. At the grocery store, in a coffee shop, anything that didn’t involve his horror. 

She deserved to be the wife of some mogul who treated her right, who could spoil her and give her every single item she ever could have wanted. He wished he knew why she had turned to her government, why she had found herself here. 

She moaned softly as she adjusted against him, pressing firmly against his chest, her ass rubbing against his cock, and he had to take a deep breath, keeping his arms around her tight enough that she wouldn’t arouse anything that shouldn’t be. He let one last kiss press to her neck before he forced himself into sleep. 

That was the only instance of sweetness he was offered, however. 

Sweden offered something much more desirable to him. 

He was a few hours early to his mark, landing him in the middle of the night. He knew just where his target would be, but it would take until 2 am for them to show up. There was a chill in the air, and he pulled his wool coat just slightly tighter around him. He pulled his binoculars out, however, looking over the area in front of him. He needed to ensure no one would be watching him, as he was flat on the roof. No one else was higher than him at that moment, leading him to look out through the windows, trying to figure out if many people would wake up and see him. Most rooms were dark, meaning the occupants would be much too busy with their activity of choice to notice him. That was when she caught his eye.

He didn’t know why she was in Sweden. He couldn’t even start to guess why she was in Sweden. She was across the road from him, and he couldn’t move his sights from her. 

She was absolutely beautiful in her chair, every inch of her pale skin out for him to see. He knew she wasn’t doing it for him, though. Every action of hers proved that she was merely pleasuring herself, for whoever who looked at her window, to see. The exhibitionism was beautiful. 

Her head was thrown back over the back of her chair, her fingers pumping in and out of herself. He could see she was wearing a black glove on her hand, but he couldn’t tell much more than that. It was clear that she had been going at herself for some time, if the darkness on the chair in front of her was anything to go by. Her free hand moved over her chest, lightly raking her nails over her chest, red marks showing up after her fingers. It shortly moved to cup her breast, squeezing her nipple. Her legs closed around her hand, and he could tell she just finished. 

Her fingers pulled out of herself, and her lips moved, though he was unable to really read the words she said. But, he saw that the glove was missing the tip of the ring finger, and he was sure that it was the glove he had lost on his last mission with her.

She had to be on a vacation, he summarized. She wouldn’t be pressing her fingers back into herself if she was just cleaning up her frustration with a bad lay. And she certainly wouldn’t have brought a single leather glove with her if she was on a mission. 

He couldn’t help watching the movements she provided him. By his count, she finished at least three times, before she moved back to her bed. He had been fighting off the tightness in his pants for almost every second of what had happened. 

Every second was committed to his memory. 

She had been every instance of beauty. 

* * *

Their Thai had been good, overall. It wasn’t always good or bad, as normal. 

“Good night, Adrien,” Gabriel said, when they finished. It was late enough that he should send him to bed, so he would be able to get to school in the morning. 

Adrien moved the plates to the sink and gave his father a half-hug on his way to his room. Gabriel didn’t even flinch as one of his wounds was pulled on, and he was glad that the blood waited until Adrien was out of the room. He got into his bathroom, and quickly fixed it up, looking over the wounds he had just received in the last few days. Cuts, bruises. He looked older than he ever had, and he knew retirement would be soon enough pulling up. His hands moved over his face, and he sat down in front of the sink, taking some deep breaths. 

He would never admit just how much of his soul was thrown into his job. It was too much for his son to ever know about. He didn’t even know how Adrien would react to such information. The things he did for his son often was more than Adrien could have ever fathomed. 

He didn’t know just how he was going to ever explain this to him. He just always needed to come home to make sure his son was alright. If he could make it home for Adrien, everything would be made right. He didn’t have another force in this world, other than to make sure he was safe, and nothing could ever possibly stop him from keeping his son safe. 


	3. Tear You Apart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adult content in this chapter (at the end as a warnin)  
> Tear you Apart- She Wants Revenge

“You’re going to Liechtenstein,” were the words she was given with the file. She instantly looked up at her boss, her brows shooting up. She hadn’t heard of the state in a couple of years, at this point. 

“Sir?” What in the world could possibly be going on in that tiny pinprick that Switzerland couldn’t take care of? “We don’t even have a treaty with them.” 

“No, we don’t.” She looked at him, waiting for him to explain himself slightly. He didn’t offer a single answer, however. “It would seem stupid to send you there, wouldn’t it, 003?” He moved to lean against his desk, his arms crossing as he looked down at her. “Why would we send you, one of our best agents, there?” His dark eyes matched hers. 

“We’re looking for a treaty, for some reason,” she returned, opening the file to look through it. A threat to a minister’s life, from an unknown source. “But we don’t need one with Liechtenstein.” 

“Not necessarily.” Nathalie looked up, thinking for just a moment more. 

“We’re looking at Switzerland,” she finally said. “Something big’s going to be happening, huh?” She looked at him directly, then. 

“Yes, we are. Our interests align with both, even in this time of calm. Their Prime minister was threatened, an attempt on his life, and we need someone to go and help France, Russia, and the United States.” 

“Why aren’t you sending 004?” she asked, at last. 

“She’s currently on another mission.” She took a breath, and he raised a finger. “006 hasn’t been filled, and 007 is on recovery. No one else is available, who we don’t have reserved.” She took a breath and looked to the side. 

“And my protection?” 

“Only your standard, as well as two disguises.” 

“Only two?” 

“You’ve just been brushed up on your training, haven't you?”

“Ms. Beech.” Her tone was perfectly entitled, perfectly bitchy. Perfect for this, right now. She smacked the gum in her mouth, the brown wig styled just so, not a single hair out of place. Everything about her demanded attention, the white outfit suit, to the beautiful glasses she was wearing. Even the prosthetic nose was perfectly applied to make her look just that less likable. Her gum smacked again, and the person behind the counter looked between her and the other receptionist for a moment. She took just a moment before looking directly at the woman in front of her. 

“I’m sorry, ma’am,” she said, looking slightly confused. “How is it I can help you?” Nathalie looked at her through her dark sunglasses, blowing a bubble. Every single action of hers was perfectly rehearsed. She pushed the one curl that was out of her hair behind an ear, and she tapped a card onto the desk. 

“I’m clearly checking in.” She popped another bubble, looking around every inch of the lobby, making sure that everything was secure. It would be unlikely that anyone would really interact with her. She flicked her hair again, clearly annoyed with the entire situation. 

“Of course, Ma’am.” Nathalie really did feel bad, on the inside, with how rude she was being to the receptionist. But, if her net result was only a few feelings hurt and a man still alive, she was going to consider it a success. 

“Well, be quick.” Nathalie was quite sharp with her tone, but she knew that it was needed. 

“Here’s your key, Ms. Beech,” the lady said, handing the piece of plastic, with a smile on her lips. Nathalie wished she could tip the woman. “Room 1046, on the tenth floor. You’ll take the elevator to the tenth floor, take a right, then a left.” There was a motion to Nathalie’s right, and she went to the corner, giving only the nastiest of smiles to her. She popped her gum and walked to the elevators. 

The instructions were correct, and she found herself opening the door easily. The dark room didn’t hide much, however, and she flicked the light, looking at the man she was fully expecting to see in front of her. 

The sound of fabric shifting joined the site of a gun, lifted and directed at her. 

“Now, do I get a name this time?” she questioned, looking at him with a cocked brow, her sunglasses coming off her face. She moved over to the bathroom, looking at her prosthetics for just a moment. Everything was still fitted perfectly. 

She moved to look at him, flicking the beautiful wig over her shoulder, admiring just how it felt to have his hair. 

“Let’s see. You can’t be Russian this time. Your last name was (insert)... “

“It’s Martine Adral Mccroy,” he replied to her unfinished question. “And you?” 

“(Insert). It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she said, a mocking tone passing her lips. She was going to ignore the light smile on them, however. 

Her suitcase was moved onto the bed, before she moved over to him, sitting next to him, but on the bed. 

“I’m surprised the Germans didn’t jump in,” Nathalie said, leaning back just slightly on the bed. She knew he must’ve found a way to pick the lock, with how the room was set up. 

“I’m not,” he replied. She watched as his lips quirked up, her own face soon mimicking him. 

“It’s a joint between us, you, Russia, and the US. Germany didn’t need to jump in.” He holstered his gun, at last, showing off his beautiful suit. The dark purple complimented him better than she would have ever thought it would. His hands smoothed down his hair, and he moved in front of her on the bed. 

She could feel his body almost as well as if he had been touching her. She couldn’t deny her lust, but she knew there was a time and place. Instead, she looked directly at him, leaning back just that slight bit more. 

“They dyed your hair,” she observed. 

“They’re making you wear a wig,” he quickly returned, and she could tell that she had hit a small nerve. 

“Do you like the blonde?’ she asked, her voice lowering slightly. He didn’t respond for a few moments, clearly comparing her in and out of the wig. 

“I prefer you with dark hair.” His fingers were suddenly in her hair, his fingers on a lock of hair that was out of place, and he frowned. He pulled on the blonde lock until it fell from his fingers.

“Good,” she responded to his worry. “What time does our shift start?” she questioned easily, standing up, and moving the suitcase onto her bed, carefully looking over the items. She didn't move when he was so suddenly behind her, his warm body pressing against her tense one, unwilling to let him intimate her. 

He pressed a single kiss to her neck, and it took everything in her not to shudder at his action. 

“When do our shifts start?” she asked, knowing the answer, but hoping his answer would be the desired response. 

“Only an hour. We’re going to be the ones on crowd duty in a few days.” 

“Damn,” she murmured, before turning to him, her brow cocking. “Darling, are you going to stand there and just admire my weapons, or are you going to play as well?” Her front was very close to his, and she would be lying if she said she wasn’t enjoying the position. His body pressing against hers was more than intoxicating, but she knew better than to allow her emotions to disappear into her actions. 

“They really should stop pairing us up on missions,” Gabriel murmured into her ear. Oh, how she disagreed with that. Every time she was next to him, it was like the first time. 

“No,” she disagreed, facing him, brushing a single piece of lint off his shirt. “They really should be giving us more time together.” Hopefully, enough time to really get to know each other. She knew the probability was next to zero, however. 

His lips were enticing, as they cocked up, and her professionalism was forced into her head. She really didn’t want to break that, after all. 

“That’s closer,” he murmured to her, before turning away entirely from Nathalie. She wasn’t coy in watching him leave, knowing the muscle that his suit hid. “I’ll be back later, Ms. Beech,” he informed her. He stopped next to her bag, however, taking the extra plastic card off her hands. Her training screamed at her to tell him to stop, but her mouth betrayed her more than she could have believed. 

“I’ll be holding you to that, Mr. Mccroy.” The door latching sounded louder than it had to be, and she looked up at the ceiling. She had much to do, and only an hour to do so. Knowing he had her back, however, seemed to make everything easier. She just wished it made either of them safer. Sure, physically they would be sound, but that wasn’t the only danger out there, not by a long shot. 

Her mind eventually turned back to her makeup. She took off her few prosthetics, glad he had been able to see her through them, but it proved a disadvantage if other people could tell just who she was. 

She fixed her face just right, the wig being seated correctly again. That really wasn’t the important part of her getting ready. She could look like shit, and so long as it looked normal, she knew no one would look twice at her. 

Nathalie turned to the suitcase, opening it up, and setting the different clothes in there to the side. The bottom pouch opened to someone who had the training that she did, someone who would help. The packaging was perfect, and she took a moment to admire each piece of metal. Her lips curved up just the barest, knowing each had saved her life in a past mission. 

Her gun was taken out first, opening up the mechanisms to ensure nothing to catch and jam her in a moment of need. Each bullet was wiped clean of fingerprints, as was the clip when she slid it home. It found a home against her side, just under her arm. 

The knives were next, each well sharped, and each in their own specific casings. It would slide out easily with the correct flick of her fingers. She slid each of them home on different parts of her body. One between her shoulder blades, one on her right side, one on her hip, and the last one on her ankle. 

She looked in the mirror once each was home, to ensure no weird lumps or disruptions of her silhouette she wouldn’t know about. She didn’t find a single spot out of place, as it should be. Her suitcase was zipped back up, and she found only five minutes left. Time always did slip away from her, though she always hit the same mark. The actions did speak to her soul, offering her a chance to mediate before any possible blood baths. 

Her sunglasses were slipped back on, offering that moment of beauty, and disguise. She turned off the lights, and slipped into the hallway, though she should have expected the sight that presented itself to her. 

Gabriel was leaning against the wall across from her, and he was just as beautiful, just as presentable as before. And she couldn’t deny that she really enjoyed the appearance of him in a suit. The door clicked behind her, and she let herself look over him for just a moment, and anyone looking at them would assume she was judging him harshly. But thank god she was given this moment to admire him. 

“Do you need something?” she questioned, pulling her glasses off for a moment, cocking her hip, and looking for all the world, a spoiled brat who grew up on daddy’s money. Or a woman who married a daddy. She hated every single action she had to take, but she had to be this terrible. 

“Nein,” he replied, the german impossibly smooth on his tongue. She hadn’t heard him speak it before, but even as she spoke it the same as he, she couldn’t hold the desire for him to only speak that in front of her for quite some time. 

“Gut,” she replied. Her sunglasses were smoothly set back on her face, before moving to the elevator. Gabriel was smart enough to wait for her to disappear. Granted, they met up in the same unmarked vehicle, to be shuttled to the prime minister’s house. Two weeks of almost living together, protecting the same man, wouldn’t be too bad, in her opinion. It really could be so much worse. 

And the fact that Gabriel’s hand didn't leave Nathalie’s thigh from the moment they closed the doors to the moment that they showed up at the Minister's house went unmentioned. 

* * *

His house was absolutely beautiful. Views of mountains, ornate crown molding, everything pale colors and gold, nothing out of place. It was very difficult to protect, with all the high, hidden places just outside the windows. 

The entire layout showed luxury over security, and if he didn’t need to be present at that damn parade, she would have insisted on a safe house immediately. Too bad it had been decided to show no fear, to ignore this group’s threats. 

Nathalie was silently walking around the house, her shoes off, as she knew that it would cause too much noise. Her current view was the road to get to his mansion, though she had been going around and looking through each window every so often. She could faintly hear Gabriel’s voice joining the minster’s, snips being able to be distinguished, but not more than that. 

* * *

“Thank you,” the minister said to Gabriel, pouring himself two fingers of whiskey. He looked out the same window Gabriel was, before turning into the house, seemingly oblivious to the beauty. “It’s really not often that I am alone enough to get real moments of honesty,” he informed the agent. 

“Yes, sir,” Gabriel said. He could only be so honest as to say this man disgusted him. Every single beautiful thing in his life and he was throwing it away for a girl who was half his age, most likely only consenting due to this position, and was ignoring his wife in favour of this hot piece of ass. He could have dealt with this mission if it was just to protect a man who had a threat on his life, but things were never so easy. He would do his job, of course, but damn if he didn’t believe this minister deserved every bad thing that was absolutely coming to him. 

His eyes broke from the nature outside the window, to sweep over the room again. He didn’t care if he was being overly careful. He needed to ensure not just his reputation, but also the reputation of France. Disgust this intense of the man was ensured. Was Gabriell going to do a terrible job because of that? Absolutely not. He wouldn’t abandon his training just due to personal distaste. 

“Come now,” The minister said, a disgusting grin on his face. “Surely you have had a taste of the beautiful woman accompanying you.” Oh, Gabriel wished he had already, but something had seemed to constantly come up, and not exactly the part that he wanted to come up. Though if this man had seen how she danced, how well she would grind against men begging for her attention, the Minister would be much more vulgar than this.

“I have a wife,” he simply responded. The truth, to a point. The minister didn’t need to know that said wife had been dead for years at this point. 

“And surely you’ve had a piece of this agent, no?” 

“No, sir. She and I are merely business associates.” 

“If that’s so, maybe I should have a piece. She has such lovely breasts, hm?” The rage that flared through Gabriel shocked even him. It wasn’t as if he had a claim on Nathalie, of course. She wasn’t his to take and have. He wanted to be the only man who kissed her skin. He couldn’t imagine what was going through his man’s head to the point that he found it okay to break the trust of the woman who trusted him the most in this world. It disgusted Gabriel to no end. 

“I only do what this job requires, sir” Gabriel replied, too stiff to be comfortable. He wasn’t going to allow this man into his thoughts. 

“Anything for your country? A good man.” The minister clapped his shoulder, clearly trying for good-natured and ending up in asshole. “If only we had men like you for our own intelligence. Our fucking missions may just be completed.” Gabriel’s thoughts quickly turned biting, wondering just what the fuck he had been doing to his agents that he would find it hard to keep them. 

“Yes, sir,” Gabriel replied, calm in his words. Even if he couldn’t have his body calm, he’d be damned if his voice betrayed him. 

As much as he hated it, however, there was a bit of truth to the Minister’s words. There was no reason that he shouldn’t have offered something more to Nathalie, other than the timing. With the way they were currently set up, however, he knew that they would have time tonight, if only she wanted. 

Damn their countries for putting them on the same mission, and damn them for sticking both of them on the same shift. 

The clock chimed seven o’clock, and he was obscenely glad he only had one more hour left today. Twelve-hour shifts were harsh, but it was something they were both willing to do. 

Right on time, Nathalie showed up, in the doorway, and she spoke in flawless Russian. Something that they both spoke, but they knew the minster wouldn’t. Or, if he did, he always put up the correct front to ensure people didn’t know he did. 

“Nothing out of the normal,” she said to him, rolling her head for just a moment. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Minister jump, clearly surprised that Nathalie was in the doorway. 

“As it is here,” He replied. “Though I’d be willing to switch,” he said, only his eyes cutting over to the man they needed to protect. Her lips quirked for only a second, before she looked around the room, seemingly feeling as if something was off. Yet, she didn’t say anything about something being off and nodded at Gabriel. 

“Thank you.” She left the area, as silent as she had been before. 

“Can you not see that?!” The minister said the moment he thought she was fully away. ”Are her looks and actions not enough to see she wants you, or are you not a man?” 

Despite the connotations and terribly sexist ideals coming from him, Gabriel looked at the doorway for just a few extra moments. 

“Indeed I can,” he responded, before looking back out the window, looking through the rustling trees. 

* * *

The hotel room still felt artificial. Disgusting, barely put together by the general standards, and only due to being designed by the same person. Something cheap and unrelenting. The Beige on the walls couldn’t have been more diplomatic if it had tried. It was a time capsule back to the 2000s, nearly, how the rich lived during that time. It showed the time of being in its heyday, that was for certain, but it was clear the ghosts that walked the halls were nothing more than memories. 

“These missions always bore me,” Nathalie said with a small sigh. The water in her cup was drunk, and she set it down on the floor next to Gabriel. 

They were sitting on the floor at the foot of his bed, playing poker with nothing more than pennies, but something interesting was better than nothing. Neither of them would admit this was better than their empty hotel rooms.

“Diplomatic missions are usually the hardest,” he said, and Nathalie couldn’t help her smile, followed by her small laugh. “And they’re usually the most boring.” 

“I will happily agree with you there, Mr. Mccroy,” she responded, putting down another winning hand, before getting herself some more water. “The biggest travesty is that we can’t drink or fuck.” She bit her lip for a second at her own words. Speaking like that to a target was easily simple, it was nearly second nature. Speaking like that to a fellow agent? That held more power than she was strictly willing to give to most.

She heard him get up behind her, but she kept her eyes on the faucet. 

“Who said there can’t be fucking?’ he returned, his french accent starting to slip through. It was all she needed to know that he really was serious about his actions. She set the cup down next to her, before turning around to face him, her eyes hard. She looked him over to test the integrity of his offer, to see pupils dilated, and controlled breathing. She was positive that he wasn’t even showing his full hand to her. She looked to the side for just a moment, her hands on the edge of the sink behind her. 

“Do you think that’s wise? I don’t even know what name to yell out.” 

“Neither do I, Ms. Beech,” he replied, agreeing with her. It was clear that there was an argument held inside her. She knew that she wanted to be with him. She knew that if she was able to, she would be in his bed every night. 

But they were two opposing forces, two people who had to keep their country, their integrity, over their desires. 

She knew which side won almost instantly, though. She walked up to him, the few steps it was, to look him directly in his stormy eyes. She could see the conviction in them, the obvious desire to not let this moment go. She knew that he was going to hold strong to his convictions, but she took a moment to whisper a command to him. 

“Don’t fall in love with me, Mr. McCroy.” Yet, she didn’t give him a moment to respond. He already made his choice, she was certain of that. And if he decided against it, she wouldn’t fight being pushed away. 

Her lips were on his, pressing firmly as her hands moved to the tie around his neck, pulling him closer. She rarely was this insistent, and forward. Men usually loved the chase, but he had been chasing her for too long at this point. She felt his hands move to her sides, before sliding down to her waist. One hand moved further, to her thigh, pulling it up to wrap around his waist, whilst his hand gently rubbed the back of her thigh. 

She broke from his lips to move to his throat, kissing just as firmly as she had been before. He couldn’t help his moan, and he whispered a command to her. 

“Hold onto me,” he said, the instruction more sensual than he had ever intended to make it. She didn’t hesitate, her hands lacing behind his neck, her other leg moving to his waist, and she was on his bed in moments. She was breathless when her back met the mattress, and it wasn’t due to how gently he had set her down. 

He stopped for a moment, before meeting her eyes. 

“I may be french, but I will not make love to you.” His warning was clearly serious, as their gazes locked. Her tongue darted out to wet her lips, and she swallowed. 

“Good. I don’t want you to.” She would admit that was a lie, but only to herself. She didn’t want him to know that she had already thought of how that would happen. He really didn’t need to know that. 

“Then we’re on the same page.” She pushed him back slightly, but spoke quick enough he wasn’t confused for too long. 

“Get your clothes off,” she said, quickly following her own instructions. She had already taken off her weapons, and the small amount of clothing she was already wearing was gone in moments. His hands slid her pants down her thighs, before taking his own pants and boxers off. He pulled her to the edge of the bed, not waiting for her to say another word. Her hands flew to the bed for just a moment, trying to offer her some stability. 

She knew he was strong, from what she had seen him do, but the feeling of him moving her so quickly, so firmly, she couldn’t deny that she got turned on. There was something in his movements that offered her pleasure beyond belief. She was glad that he knew just what he was doing. 

He proved her suspicions quickly, pulling her panties to the side only to lick a swipe over her slit, before focusing on her clit for a few moments. Her hands had moved to his hair, moving him just where she wanted his lips. Her moans were soft, but she was in heaven, his mouth finding just the right spots. 

Her thighs pressed around his head for a moment when he slipped his finger into her slit, warming her up before adding another finger. When he curled those fingers, however, she couldn’t help gasping and finishing. 

She was almost surprised just how quickly he managed to make her finish. She would admit it had been a while since a man had managed to make her come so quickly and completely. If she was lucky, it was one or the other. 

Her hand moved his head up, to look at her. 

“Get up here and fuck me properly,” she whispered to him, and he stood. “Scoot back,” he told her, getting a condom from his bag. “Were you planning this?” She teased him, her lips curving into a devilish smile. 

She heard his chuckle, and he moved back to her, his torso pressing against hers, to force her against the bed. 

“Was I planning on fucking you, Ms. Beech? No.” He bit her earlobe, as he slid the condom onto his shaft. “Hoping? Every time I’ve seen you.” He guided himself into her, slowly letting her feel every inch. 

His fingers moved to her clit, as he kissed her neck. He was unable to put into words just how much he wanted to bite her and claim her for himself. He knew how bad of an idea it was. A bite on the neck was stupid for anyone, and they both needed their bodies in as well of shape as possible. 

“Have you been waiting for this all day, as I have?” Gabriel asked, sucking on her earlobe. Her legs wrapped around his hips, pulling him tighter into him, as her hands moved to his shoulders. He slowly started to thrust, letting her adjust before he started to move quicker. 

“I have to keep some of my secrets,” she returned, stuck on a half moan. 

“If I was able, I would have you screaming in this room. Too bad we need to keep our identities secret.” She only moaned in response, tightening around him for a moment. 

Their lips met, and she couldn’t help her moan into his mouth, tasting her own flavors filling his mouth. Yet, her words were quick when they parted, her lips moving up to his ear.

“If you don’t fuck me like you hate me, this will be the only time.” The threat wasn’t taken lightly, and as soon as he moved her legs to his shoulders, she was grabbing at anything she could, ending with the sheets above her head. 

Yet, the moment that he pressed in deeper than before, his lips moved to her nipples, and his thumb brushed just right, she couldn’t help finishing around him, surprised when she felt herself squirt. It was highly unusual for her to. Only one other man had managed it. 

“Was that good enough, Ms. Beech?” he asked, still inside her. 

“I think you have all the proof you need on your bed,” she replied, tightening around him for a moment. She moved her legs off his shoulders, and he finally pulled out of her, feeling just the smallest part of him feeling like it was still with her. 

He moved to dispose of the condom, and reality slapped her in the face. She wished she at least had the cloud of liquor to hide behind. Instead, she put her clothes on and grabbed her room key, as well as his extra. 

She heard the shower turn on, and she was out of his room, and back into hers. This wasn’t a bed-sharing situation. She knew those nights would be different if they ever did happen. She mourned the small part of her that did want to stay with him. 

Once she was in her shower, she sat down on the floor, thinking as the water hit her back. 

There was no reason that she should like him. Every single thing about him screamed to run the other way. His cocky smile, his beautiful eyes, even the cadence of his real voice. 

She needed to shake these feelings. It wouldn’t do to have this clouding her mind when she needed to protect the minister of this nation. She hated every second of this. 

She fell asleep to thoughts of stormy eyes and powerful arms, unable to hear the crying from his shower, even as it had been on for much too long. 


	4. I'll Be Good

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'll Be Good- Jaymes Young

Why had she allowed Gabriel to talk her into switching posts? She knew why; she had been in such a better mood today, that his hand on her thigh was enough to get her blood boiling. 

“Don’t you see something in him?” he was clearly trying to push the two of them together. Little did he know that it wasn’t needed. Her mind was still racing with just how well he had filled her the night before, how well his lips had fit over her nipples, how easily his fingers had wrapped around her sides. 

“I have a job to do, Sir,” she replied. It was slightly curt but to the point. She had no interest in discussing her habits with this man, of any subject. Her words were nice enough, however, not allowing a moment of doubt. 

“Surely….” he was able to censor himself well enough when Gabriel showed up, and Nathalie looked at him, her words easily turning to Russian as was their normal. 

“Anything?” she asked him. 

“No, it’s suspiciously…” His words were cut off by the window next to Nathalie shattering, and everything started to move in slow motion for both agents. Nathalie had her gun out almost immediately, and Gabriel was almost as quick with his. Nathalie got to the Minister, and wrapped her arm around his shoulders, pulling him to the ground with her. 

“Stay down,” she hissed at him, moving them both around the sofa. There were only so many places that they could have shot from. She was able to figure out the approximate location of the shooter, at least, and made sure the minister was hidden. “Three!” she yelled at Gabriel. He was hidden between two windows, and he looked directly at her. 

“Three,” he replied, just loud enough for her to hear his agreement. 

They locked eyes for a moment, and he nodded, before getting in front of the window to shoot, knowing there would not be anyone else out there. Nathalie used his distraction to her advantage, getting the minister to his garage. At least he was this smart. She grabbed one of the keys to a vehicle, thankfully a large SUV styled one, and she forced him into the car. 

“Get your seatbelt on,” she half growled at him, before getting into the driver’s side herself. The doors to the garage opened, and she started to drive south, the small amount of land that they had. She was at the safehouse before she even got settled, really. The third safehouse, the one that had been agreed upon with the US and Russia, if the attack came when it had. She got into the house and had the minister follow her around as she checked every room, to make sure no one was in the house. 

When she was happy with the situation, she had him sit down in a windowless bedroom. 

“Stay here until someone comes for you,” she instructed. She texted the codeword to the other agents, knowing they would be there shortly. In the meantime, she checked the rest of the house, ensuring there were no bugs. Gabriel showed up in the last room she checked, and she opened the door for him. She pulled him into the front room, and she had to force herself not to pull him into a hug, and to check him over more thoroughly. 

“The other agents will be here shortly with his wife,” Gabriel informed her. 

“Good,” she replied, looking down the hall to his room. “The national police are already on alert, and they should be finding the shooter soon. The minister is shaken, but he’s physically safe.” Her information cut off after a moment, and she looked at his white shirt, which was slowly turning a deep red. Not enough blood being lost he would have an issue, but enough that she wanted to look at it. “You’re hurt.” She looked at him, pressing her lips together. 

“It’s just a graze,” he replied, dismissive. 

“I’ll clean you up shortly,” she replied, not allowing any argument in her tone. Gabriel walked down the hall to the Minister’s room, and opened the door. 

“How are you holding up, Sir?” His voice was warmer than she had been expecting, as the other agents and his wife showed up. They told her to go into the room with her husband, and Nathalie briefed the others on what had happened. 

“I need to bandage up Mccroy,” she then said, looking at the other two. “We’ll relieve you so one of you can go and rest once I’m done.” 

“We’ll try to prevent them from killing each other,” Graham joked, and Nathalie smiled a little at him. 

Gabriel joined her as soon as the other agents were at the Minister’s side, and she guided him to the bathroom, pulling out the first aid kit. Thankfully, the shirt hadn’t become any redder, showing the bleeding slowing. 

“Take off your shirt,” Nathalie said, direct and to the point. There really was no point in trying to be coy about this; she had already seen him shirtless. 

“Now, Ms. Beech, you should buy me dinner first.” 

“I thought I gave you a pretty good meal last night.” He moved his arm to her pants, pulling her closer with that fabric. 

“It only whetted my appetite.” If she was reading into it, Nathalie could almost see that as a proposal. What exactly for, she wasn’t sure. But an invitation nonetheless. Her lips curved up against her judgment. It was too easy to just banter back and forth with this man, to offer him the responses that would lead to something more, and she couldn’t help stepping forward just slightly, giving him that bit of power over her. It was clear that she wanted more than either of them could give. 

She had promised herself, late last night, that she wouldn’t allow him to pull her back in, but all it took was a little bit of blood and a small tug and she was right back where she had started. It was dangerous, what they were doing. It was stupid, and pointless, and it was going to get them both killed. She had to ignore the lust in her body, and she backed away slightly. 

“Come on, shirt,” she said, out of reach of him now. He took it off, and she moved to sit on the edge of the tub, pointing at the toilet seat, with the lid down, for him to sit on. His torso was littered with scars, all of different qualities of healing. It was clear which ones he had stitched up with string. She also saw that the tools in the first aid kit were lacking, and that they didn’t have any local numbing agents. This would absolutely hurt more than either of them would like. 

“Tell me a story.” 

“What?” he asked, looking at her with confusion in his eyes. 

“Tell me a story.” He remained silent, and Nathalie looked at him. “If you want it to hurt more, by all means, don’t tell me anything. If you want to ignore the pain a bit, tell me a fucking story.” He remained silent for a shorter amount of time, before speaking, his deep voice lulling her into the methodical work. 

“Once upon a time,” he said, looking at her like he felt this was stupid. He didn’t allow the feelings of her cleaning up his wound stop him from still being an ass. “There was a man and a woman. They were happier than they ever had thought they could be. Their time together was slightly fraught as all times were, but their times brought them a son. They couldn’t have been any happier than they were then. Everything was falling into place, and he was about to only work locally.” He hissed out a string of pain, looking at the ceiling, before continuing his story. “See, their histories were fraught with ghosts and people who still had favors out. The wife had asked for one too many, and the husband found out much too late.”Gabriel paused, almost as if he was lost in thought. Nathalie didn’t want to lose his concentration on the story more than needed. If she poked him when he didn’t realize, she knew his training would kick in.

“Did they come calling?”

“I’m getting there, my Peahen,” he replied, and she pulled back so he could shift better into his current spot. “He didn’t even know until his son had arrived home, fresh from school, looking for help from his mother, for the homework he didn’t quite know.” He did admit that the pain did migraine away from the graze, but it only moved to his chest, a rock heavy in his heart. “The father had been at work when he found out. A neighbor heard the son crying. Fuck, could you be any clumsier with that damn needle?”

“Focus on your story,” she replied. 

“They were children of rival rings,” he said. He hadn’t spoken at this length about it in ages. The pain was hurting in just the right way. “And they had both hoped they’d been forgotten. But that wasn’t the case. The son found the wife in the kitchen, cut up, her beautiful blonde hair strewn across the room, hacked away from her head.” He took a breath, and realized his eyes were slightly wet. He blinked a couple of times, forcing these emotions away. 

Even Nathalie could feel the truth of these words. There wasn’t a possibility this was someone that Gabriel had saved from a terrible situation. This was hurting him more securely than she had ever seen. 

“They only found a finger,” he then said, a frown on his lips. He looked at her, taking a small breath. “I’m sure you weren’t expecting to hear that for a story,” he weakly offered. 

“It’s expected in our line of work. What of the son?” 

“He went back on with his life, with a lot of therapy. He didn’t know what had happened to his mother. He finally had settled on her having gone away for a while. He still looks out the window for her.” Gabriel let out a hiss of air when she tugged a little sharper than before. 

“And the husband?” She looked up at him, curious, but more curious about what his reactions were. 

“He still takes care of his son, to this day. He loves him, and provides for him, and listens when he can.” Nathalie finished cleaning him up, setting a thick bandage over it. She moved her hand up to his chin, her thumb and a finger on either side of his chin. She moved his head, tilting it slightly to face her directly. Despite his heavy words, Gabriel found his lips cocking up at her. “It’s going to be a bit before anyone really expects us back,” he murmured to her. 

His eyes didn’t shy away from looking her over, and she forced her smile to disappear. 

“Mccroy, I don’t think that’s a good idea…”

“I won’t be able to focus out there,” he said to her, his head jerking to the door. “Not after you made me think of that,” he then said. He leaned forward, carefully moving the hand from his chin to his shoulder, before both hands moved to her waist, guiding her to him. “And you’re such a perfect distraction.” 

Nathalie almost seemed hesitant when she was pulled to him, but it really didn’t take too much to get her onto his lap. She bit her lip, before looking up at him. 

“Don’t push yourself,” she murmured, her hand moving up his shoulder, into his hair, before pressing her chest lightly to his. “You might just open something you regret opening.” 

“With you? Never.” His hands moved up her back for a moment, before moving back down to her pants, toying with the waistband. She moved her lips to his, one hand moving from his hair to cup his jaw, the kissing deepening. 

Every nerve she knew she had was on fire. Every inch of her body that he touched felt unlike she ever had felt before. 

She wished she had ever felt half as alive in her daily life, as she did grinding on Gabriel, their hands and lips unwilling to leave the other’s for more than a few seconds. If only her boyfriend was a quarter as perfect as Gabriel was to her. 

She moved her head back as she felt him kiss down her neck, and she took a deep, yet stuttered breath. She could feel how hard he was when he guided her hips over him, and she had to hold in a groan. 

He moved his arm under her thigh, starting to pick her up before he had to stop, hissing softly, and pulling his head back. 

“Do you need a raincheck?” she asked, kissing the side of his lips. 

“For a few days,” he replied, his voice a darker tone than she had ever heard. She’d be lying if she said it didn’t excite her. 

“Then you better make good on it next time I see you, Mr. McCroy,” she murmured to him and stood up, the fire on her body almost distracting. She fixed her hair in the mirror. “I’ll see if there’s any extra shirts,” she said to him, looking over her shoulder for a moment, before turning away and walking back to the living room. 


	5. Undisclosed Desires

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Undisclosed Desires- Muse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> eyy y'all got more adult content this chapter

“You both took your time,” The minister said, though he was clearly shaken. Really, all Nathalie could hope for was that these next few hours was all it took. She didn’t know if she could spend a few weeks holed up with this terrible man and his wife. 

When Gabriel came out of the bathroom, buttoning the last few buttons on his shirt. It was ill-fitting, that was for sure, but even on him, it looked wonderful. When he caught the Minister’s eye, however, Nathalie saw his wink. 

“I apologize for the delay, Minister. His wound was slightly worse than I thought it would be.” A lie, but no one needed to run and tell anyone anything. She was in front of the window, looking out to see only old houses around theirs. 

“Mr. Smith,” Nathalie called, looking at the man from America. “I need you to go out and see how everything looks around the house. No one lurking, you know.” He nodded, upon hearing that. 

“I’ll make sure the perimeter is secure,” he replied, and he walked out of the room. She turned to the minister and his wife. “Please take a seat on the sofa.” She waited until they were both sitting before moving in front of them, thinking of the rules that would work best. 

“Stay away from the windows.” she started, her tone not allowing argument. “If anyone’s going to get shot, it will be us for being too close.” They both nodded, upon hearing that. “And if this takes long enough to get to night, you two are sleeping in different rooms. Do not fight.” They both nodded again, and she looked at both of them for a few moments. 

Nathalie let the hours slip away, though she didn’t relent on her surveillance. It was very easy to protect the place, and some Swiss riflemen had taken post at two of the buildings near them. She almost would be impressed if someone managed to get past that without setting off any alarms. Four highly trained, highly specialized agents as well as four Swiss riflemen? It was nearly impossible to get past that unless one was very good. 

Yet, her eyes kept straying to Gabriel. She could tell that he needed something to take the edge off the pain, but anything they could offer would only dull his senses. She knew none of them could take that risk. He rested against a wall with his good side, slight pressure on his side with his arm, though it was hidden by him holding his chin. In any other situation, she knew that she would have laughed more than she cared to admit, just with him standing as he was. 

But she knew her heart shouldn’t be making that serious of a choice. 

She forced it down, as much as she could. That kind of thinking would only breed hurt later.

Nathalie couldn’t allow herself to think of just how beautiful his body had been under the hotel lights, how every inch of him was devoted to the loyalty of his country or his people. Nathalie knew that she wouldn't let herself fall down that hole, however. 

“You two are watching each other more than us,” the minister jested, and Nathalie forced her eyes to look back outside. 

“I do apologize, Sir,” she said, her back ramrod straight. “I didn’t mean for it to seem that way, I am merely concerned about my partner’s condition.” 

The minister stood up after a moment and straightened his suit jacket. 

“I am going to get something to drink,” he murmured, his lips pressed together. As soon as he had turned the corner, his wife spoke up. 

“It is very cute,” she said, to them both. “It is clear you have both worked together before, no?” 

“We can’t confirm or deny,” Nathalie replied; an easy truth for them both. 

“Well, you two work well together, I can see that. Much better than the American and the Russian, pah.” She shook her head and continued to ramble about it all. Nathalie didn’t comment another word, caring more about their surroundings than what she was blathering about. But, as she allowed herself one last look at him, she could see something in his eyes. There was something going on she wasn’t entirely sure about, but damn if she didn’t already want to know. 

* * *

“What were you thinking about,” she said, moving her head back as he kissed a line down her neck. Lifting her, he couldn’t do. Pressing her to the wall, that he was able to do. “Earlier, after his wife called us cute?” She couldn’t help her soft groan, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, keeping him close. She felt an ache starting between her legs. This man would become the death of her, that was for sure. 

“I was thinking of doing this to you,” he replied, opening her shirt, his body still pressing against her where he could. 

“I thought you were in too much pain.” 

“I can put it aside for you,” he replied. He pressed her body to his, guiding her to the bed. Once his calves hit the mattress, however, he moved his lips down her torso, kissing her skin, pressing his lips to her scars. She moved her hand to his chin, and in the semi-darkness, she looked more beautiful and sexy than he had ever seen her before. 

“Take off your pants,” she softly instructed him, and he was careful in doing so, followed by his boxers and his shirt. Nathalie kept his eyes as she sunk to the floor onto her knees, looking at him through her lashes. His interest was communicated very readily, as she watched his bare cock twitch when she got to the right level, and she moved her hand to his member, slowly stroking him, before licking a swipe up his cock, barely anything more than a tease. He softly hissed in pleasure, and she hadn’t heard such a beautiful sound in ages. Yet, she didn’t take too much longer to wet his cock. 

She pulled him into her mouth easily, his shaft a nice pressure in her mouth. She couldn’t help her soft moan around him, and by his breathing became labored, she could tell that she was doing very well. She let her tongue move in just the right way, running over the ridges, and just as she was really getting into it, she felt his hand move into her hair, pulling her off. She had barely realized just how much she had been getting into sucking him off, when she took a deep breath, pulling back a little with a moan. 

“I want to be in you,” Gabriel murmured to her, his eyes dark. He was holding his breathing back, trying to calm down, before Nathalie moved to straddle his hips, rubbing his length through her folds. He softly swore, the French only slipping through due to it being her on him. “You’re this wet, just from sucking me off?” She couldn’t help her soft moan, before stopping for a moment. 

“Do you have a condom, McCroy?’ she asked, knowing she wouldn’t budge on this stance. He paused for a moment, before nodding. 

“My front right pocket on my pants.” 

“Were you planning something?” she asked, a soft tease in her voice. 

“Just hoping,” he replied, his lips curved up. She grabbed the foil packet, and easily slipped it onto him, before she followed, riding him for a few moments. The issue came when she tried to lean down and kiss his chest, and he hissed in pain. She instantly pulled back, and got off him. 

“Take me from behind,” she said, looking at him with all the seriousness she could muster. She didn’t have to wait long, and he was behind her, sliding home again, the position much easier on his injury. 

“You’re so wet,” he softly hissed, moaning at the feeling. Her hand moved from supporting herself to her clit, slowly rubbing it, letting her start to get to the edge.

Yet, any semblance of a rhythm was soon discarded when he heard her moan. 

“You’re filling me just right,” she whispered, and his groan filled her ears more than she would ever admit. She wished she could have hours of it on a recording, but she knew that would be a bad idea on so many levels. 

He dared to lean down and bite her shoulder, producing a moan from her, and tensing around him. 

His soft moan against her skin let her finish, tensing around him. He finished soon after, and she had to pull her pants back up, to be ready for any kind of action they needed to do. She saw him out of the corner of her eye, cleaning himself up as well. 

“You’re not going to be able to kick me out of bed, this time,” she informed him. She got under the blanket, rolling her shoulders a few times to try and relax just a little bit. He moved behind her in the bed, before moving to kiss her shoulder, even over the fabric. 

“I don’t think I will ever be able to again,” he replied, though it was clear he didn’t mean the words as they came from his lips. Yet, she knew on some level, she had to trust them. They did mean something. They were agents; words weren’t said like that just to throw them out. It only took moments for him to pull her close, his face pressed nicely against her shoulder. She couldn’t help realize how well they fit together, his chin on her shoulder, her ass on his dick. There had to be something more than just these moments of stolen time, the excitement from finding herself in a place with a familiar face. 

There had to be something else with them than just this. So many times couldn’t be a coincidence. 

She forced her mind to shut off, closing her eyes with a deep breath. 

This mission had to be perfect.

* * *

“And you’re sure everything is here?’ Q asked her again, his brow cocking up. 

“Everything other than two bullets,” Nathalie replied. He smiled, his lips curving up. 

“Good job, 003. If all of our agents were as good as you, I do swear I wouldn’t be up your arse as much as I am.” She offered the faintest of smiles at his praise. 

“Now, she isn’t the only good one!” Nathalie looked at the other agent, the smile increasing slightly. “No offense, Nathalie, but the only thing you’ve ever missed from me is a single knife and some bullets, which were shot.” 

“004, did you just get back?” she rubbed under her left eye as an indication she meant the deep black eye Fianna had. 

“Yeah, you know I like it when people put up a fight.” 

“Yes, I’m aware,” Nathalie replied, before slightly shaking her head. Nathalie watched as James walked up behind Fianna, curious to see just how long it would take her to say something.

“004, you are so very soon going to be on my ban list,” Q said, cleaning each knife, bullet, and chamber, enduring every millimeter of his designs were perfect, still. 

“At least we’re both better than James,” Fianna said. 

“I beg your pardon?” His Scottish accent rumbled out from behind her, and she couldn’t help jumping. Nathalie laughed at her shock, a soft chuckle at her reaction. 

“Dammit, James!” Fianna half yelled out, lightly slapping his chest. “Warn me before you do that!”

“Well, then it’s no fun!” Fianna glared at James for a few moments before she sat down on Q’s table, in one of the only open spots she could find. James walked behind Q, and placed his hand on his lower back, before whispering into his ear. 

“Later. 003,” Q said, pointing at Nathalie with a bristle brush. “Needs to finish debriefing me on everything that happened with my instruments, and 004,” Q pointed at Fianna. “Needs to leave and go to Medical, but she won’t listen to me. You, of course, can only help with one.” Q pointed at the door, clearly displeased with so many people ruining his atmosphere. 

“Come on, Fianna. Medical, then some drinks.” 

“No drinking!” Q yelled after both of them as they left. Nathalie looked directly at Q, once they had left. 

“Thank you,” she said. “I know I'm asking a lot of you,” she started, and Q set the brush down. 

“003, I don’t want to know your reasons. You clearly need to fill in some pieces, and though I would love to help you on your adventure, you know I have my hands full with James.” 

“I do. I’m thinking it happened around 1996 to 2000,” she said, her lips pressing to the side. “Most likely in Paris, something that was gruesome, that would have been in the papers.” 

“And you can’t go to the library?” 

“Not for this. He’s an agent, after all.” Q pressed his lips together, before turning to the computers. He was quick to get a few papers up, but none had a photo of the wife up. Nathalie sucked some air from between her teeth, looking over the descriptions. Until she saw him, holding his son in a blanket, dark handprints on both their faces. She had never seen such utter despair on a face before. She wanted to reach into the photo and offer him help, to hold his son, to do something to help. She looked away after a moment. 

“What’s his name?” she whispered. 

“Gabriel Agreste, it says.” Nathalie took a breath, before looking up at him. 

“I appreciate this, Q,” she said. “This just greatly helped.” 

She had a name to his face, at last.

* * *

Getting home didn’t take long, and as she unlocked the door into her house, she heard her honestly beautiful neighbor running up to her. 

“Nathalie, wait up!” Nathalie waited for her to catch up, knowing how much of a pain in the ass it was to dig out the card. 


	6. The Good, the Bad, and the Dirty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Good, The Bad, and The Dirty, P!ATD

He was more than exhausted when he got home, his son in tow. It seemed he was just as tired tonight. 

"Father," Adrien started before a yawn took him over. 

"Will you be able to stay awake before dinner?" Gabriel asked, a brow cocking at his son. 

"I believe so," he replied, stretching. 

"I'll order it," Gabriel replied, a faint smile on his lips. He knew just why he did the job he did. His son proved each moment that he was on the right path, that protecting France was more than worth it. 

He ordered their normal order of Thai, his motions almost repetitive. A glass of water from their filter, everything a motion he had done hundreds of times before. 

Nothing in his world ever made sense, these days. He almost had been in a haze ever since Emilie had left him, and there had only been one shining light. His son proved every day what he was really there for; he was a man to protect the people he loved. He knew his job put him at a high rate of, to be blunt, death before his time, but he knew there were people who would gladly step up. 

Everyone had someone they wanted to protect, even if it wasn’t too clear to them what everything really boiled down to. He hated that he had to do such terrible things to people who really didn’t have a say either way. They were doing what they did the same as him, to protect those they loved. Just as Nathalie was.

He blinked a few times when he realized that the glass in his hands had broken, the water spilling over his slowly reddening fingers, as he realized the glass had cut his hand. A soft swear fell from his lips, and he threw it into the trash, before cleaning it up, softly hissing as he cleaned it with an antibacterial solution. Even the motions of fixing his body up were monotonous.

He knew a movie was in order, so his son could fall asleep into a peaceful sleep. He’d once confided to Gabriel, in a sleep-deprived state, he always slept the best when he fell asleep on the sofa, next to his father. If Gabriel hadn’t felt protective of his son before, he absolutely did that day. 

Yet, the food arrived before he had finished finding a movie, but he was quick to the door, calling out for his son. He wasn’t entirely sure if he was awake or not, but they had had enough days like this that he knew better than to wake him. His son needed more rest than he could have ever actually managed to get. 

The orders were taken out of the bag, and he saw his son walking up, another yawn on his lips. 

“Go sit down in the living room,” Gabriel instructed him. He plated them, a small gesture that made their dinners feel a little more like home. These nights were the only night that they ate on the sofa, but Gabriel loved each night. 

Their talk always overtook the movie, whatever it was they were watching. Rarely did they ever watch the credits, Gabriel or Adrien nodding off after their food was finished. This time, it was him, his plate on the coffee table, his head against the back of the sofa. 

Adrien had grabbed his blanket, and in the morning, Gabriel found it over him, as well as the faint promise of taking Adrien to do something once he had woken up. He knew it would be a good day, even with the stinging in his body, and the memory of Nathalie still in his dreams. 

* * *

The perky blonde woman caught up with Nathalie, and they walked to the elevators together. 

“I guess that’s just perfect timing, huh?” she giggled a little, and took the earbuds out of her ears, finally. 

“It is. Have a nice run, Viktoria?” She nodded, excited, before checking her watch. 

“30 minutes, and at quite the place. Not too bad for a woman my age, eh?” She laughed again, Nathalie smiling along with her joyful notes. “I guess you’ll be wanting Al back, huh?”

“I certainly will,” Nathalie replied, her lips falling just the slightest into a more genuine smile. “Though, I don’t think I’ll be needing your services for a while,” Nathalie admitted. 

“What? Why! I’ve been taking care of Al just great!”

“No, no, it’s nothing like that. My company’s being audited, so no one’s taking trips, business or otherwise.” Her neighbor’s eyes glittered with concern, and Nathalie couldn’t help feeling touched for that. 

“You’re going to be ok, right?” 

“Thank you for the concern, but I will be just fine. That is if I can stand London that long. You’ll just be seeing quite a lot of me now.” The doors to the elevator opened, and Nathalie let her neighbor get out first.

“I will? That’s awesome! We’ll have to have coffee, or wine, or make each other dinner!” 

“Careful offering, or I’ll take you up on it.” 

Nathalie and Viktoria finally rounded the corner to their apartments, and Nathalie was surprised to see her boyfriend, Markus, standing at the door. 

“I…” Markus drifted off for a moment, before clearing his throat. “I had a feeling you’d be back tonight.” 

“You guessed right,” Nathalie replied, her brow cocked. This had never happened before. She normally had texted him, but she felt the guilt clawing inside her belly. She had just wanted to be alone for a night. 

“Finally,” Viktoria piped up. “He finally guessed right,” she said, a laugh coming from her lips. “I’ve come home to this little puppy waiting on your doormat like he’d been kicked out!” Viktoria couldn’t help her laugh again. “He’s got it bad for you! Come on, come get Al and you can tell this pup what’s up!” Nathalie looked at her boyfriend for a moment, quelling the suspicions in her mind. Anything she needed to say could be put on hold since they were in the hallway. 

Nathalie moved to Markus and kissed his cheek. “I’ll be in momentarily; order my normal Thai?” Her key was passed to his hand, and he smiled. Though the man was beautiful, he really didn’t fuck her half as well as Gabriel had. So many things this man tried, Gabriel was able to deliver on flawlessly. Any way that Markus had managed to be sweet, Gabriel had topped in every tiny interaction. She had felt more connection with a man who she’d seen less than ten times than she had with the man she was only half building a life with.

“Sure. Love you.” 

“Love you, too.”

Viktoria opened the door for Nathalie, and Nathalie’s thoughts turned back to the dinner offer. Nathalie couldn’t help being touched by the offer. This was exactly why she had become an agent. Not for Gabriel, though that was what it seemed to be. She wanted to protect those like this woman, who didn’t seem to care about anything other than her current happiness, and the freedom to do so. 

She really did hate how much she had to do for the safety of this country. It was too much, yet not enough all at once. The horrors she had seen would never have entered Viktoria’s head, other than a bad movie. She really would be willing to do so much for the people in this nation, and they didn’t even offer a suspicion for who may have been getting the information from. 

“Come here, Alcaprapth,” Nathalie called out, though it wasn’t for much. She secured her computer bag over her hip, reaching down for her sphynx, who jumped up into her arms. 

He was instantly chatting her ear off, telling her everything she had missed since the last time that she had seen him. He was the sweetest cat, really. She never would have wanted any other, with how perfectly he meshed in her life. 

She reached up and lightly scratched his side, which he moved his chin down to scratch there instead. 

“Thank you again, Viktoria. Here’s your payment.” Nathalie offered the payment to her, and Viktoria quickly accepted the money. 

“Hopefully I’ll be seeing you around!” 

“Don’t worry, you will!” 

Upon reaching her apartment, Nathalie could feel something off. The lights were already on, something Markus did constantly. 

She didn’t take too long to lock the door again, calling out with a bravery she really didn’t want to use at that moment. 

“Darling, where are you?” The seconds it took to hear his answer scared her more than she cared to admit. Markus may not be the one for her, but she wouldn’t be able to forgive herself if he got hurt because of her. 

“I’m in the bedroom,” he called back out to her. Nathalie’s hackles were raised, when she heard that. He was more than aware of her hesitance for him to be in there, though he always pushed. 

Not that he would find anything. She didn’t do the normal places someone would look at. In the vent, the bottom of a drawer? Anyone could find that. If she was trained to look in a place, it wasn’t there. 

Though it just offered the question; what the hell could he be wanting in her bedroom? There was nothing he could find that he could use or want, and if he was changing, he could have used the bathroom. 

She could feel herself slip into her training, slowly, taking a breath, calming herself. 

“Am I allowed to join you?” she called, her voice only showing a teasing tone. Any suspicion was locked in her head. No reason to give him suspicions, after all. 

“Just one more moment!” She moved her hand to the door, eyes narrowed. It only lasted for a moment before she opened the door, wishing beyond reason that she had some kind of weapon, any kind. She found him pulling out a piece of lingerie from her drawer, and her training instantly switched over to confusion. Her brow furrowed, and her head subtly cocked at him. 

“Can you wear this for me? I remember you sending a picture of you in it…” He trained off, a goofy grin appearing on his lips, though it was clear that it was tinged with guilt. 

“And you were seeing if I still had it?” she finished, pressing her lips together, before taking it from him. “You should have just asked me, instead of going through my things.”

“You’re right,” he replied, before moving his arms around her waist, kissing the corner of her mouth. “I should’ve just asked. Can you forgive me?” 

“We should eat,” she deflected, looking to the side. He led her to the kitchen, intent on making up something for them both. She watched him cook, thinking over the time they’d spent together. He may show all the signs of love to her, but she was intent on the knowledge it was one-sided. He was too sweet, too innocent for her to love. He was very fine to look at, very lovely to care about, but she knew that their paths would end the moment that he tried to make it more official. 

She knew that she didn’t love him. There was no way she was able to. When she laid awake at night, it wasn’t his arms that she imagined around her. Those arms could never be around her for a long time. She wanted so much more than she could ever have, and she knew her lot in life wasn’t with Gabriel. 

Even his name seemed to fit him, better than she had ever imagined a name could. But, her partner was in front of her, and she took a deep breath, forcing herself to focus on him.

* * *

“Nathalie!” She heard the next day, and she looked over her shoulder to see her neighbor running up to her, out of breath, pieces of hair falling out from her elegant updo. 

“Hello, Viktoria,” Nathalie replied, a faint smile on her lips. “How can I help you?” 

“Well, I figured,” she started, looking at Nathalie out of the corner of her eye, trying to be subtle, and failing. “You’re going to be home, tonight, would you like to come over and have dinner?” The request was kind and unfiltered. Nathalie could feel the sincerity coming from her. 

“I think that could be arranged,” Nathalie replied, her lips curving up just slightly more. There was something kind and sweet about the woman that offered a safe place. She almost seemed to be a lighthouse for the weary, offering to show all the energy requested in a conversation. 

“Good. I want to try a new recipe, actually.” 

“You do?” Nathalie replied, her tone respectfully sweet. “What is it you’re looking to try and make?”

“Shepherd's pie,” was the quick response. 

“I’d love to come over,” she replied. The dish held a special spot in her heart. Her father would always make it after he came back from his business trips. She knew that he had been on trips to see his mistress, but even still, she never felt closer to him than in those moments. 

“Good! Seven o’clock?” 

“I’ll be there,” Nathalie promised.

* * *

She shouldn’t have been surprised how similar the layout of her neighbor’s apartment was. The decorations were artistic, from abstract to finer canvas paintings of beautiful scenes. There was a cohesion to the mess, however. It warmed one up and offered no judgment. 

“I’m sorry this is taking so long!” Viktoria called to Nathalie, a sigh coming from the kitchen. “I promise I’m not really a bad chef!” 

“I’m sure it will be delicious,” Nathalie replied, though the words felt hollow. Despite the warmth and chaos in the apartment, something felt off. “And I’m quite enjoying this music.” A slight lie, that was for sure, but the indie music that filtered through the mounted speakers was quite soothing. 

“Thank you again for trying this, Nathalie,” Viktoria called out to her, and Nathalie looked at one of the paintings. She felt something stir in her, a memory of a forgotten location, a beautiful time and place in her past. 

“It just means I don’t have to cook for myself,” she replied, entranced by the painting. Once she pulled herself away from the painting, however, she started to move around the apartment. Her fingers moved to a door handle, opening it with her practiced ease, entirely silent. Nothing looked off in the closet, and it was closed just the same. 

She was invading her Neighbor’s privacy, she knew that. But despite that fact, her hands moved to the next handle, trying and failing to open it. She knew that it was the room for the water heater, plus a little bit of storage. The lock instantly forced suspicion into her actions, though she knew it could have been for many reasons, including just keeping animals out of the area, or sensitive documents she didn’t want to lose. 

Nathalie looked over her shoulder, to make sure that Viktoria was still in the kitchen. 

“Viktoria, would it be alright if I used your toilet?” she questioned, knowing exactly where it was already. 

“Yeah, It should be where yours is anyway. Down the hall, first door on the left. If you open the door and it’s linens, you’ve gone too far.” 

“Thank you,” Nathalie called out, wishing she had some kind of weapon. Too many small things had felt off the last few days, her suspicions being roused. 

She searched the bathroom as quickly as she could. Nothing in the normal places she would look, nothing in the shower railing, the toilet tank, anything. It wasn’t until she looked under the sink, the water running and the toilet flushed for cover, that she found the item she was dreading finding. 

A gun was taped under the underside of the sink, easy enough that it could be torn down in a moment of tension and stress, but not enough that it would fall. Nathalie felt dread coming through her, and she was afraid that she found the reason that Markus had managed to get into the complex. 


	7. One Cigarette

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One Cigarette-Ivan Campo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adult content warning; beginning and end. Also, typos? sorry. I'm sorry. I wanted this out on time!

The findings were driving her mad. She has already asked Q to look at her records, showing nothing out of the ordinary. No red flags, nothing out of the ordinary, at all. Not even a loitering ticket, noise violation, or any kind of complaint against her. 

Nathalie hadn’t pressed any of it, knowing that it would be far better to keep it on the down low, for now. It wouldn’t do to be accusing random citizens of something nefarious. Even though guns were illegal. 

It just wouldn’t do for MI5 to get ahold of this, and just happen to search her house as well. She wouldn’t be that reason, and though nothing would incriminate anyone at her house, she didn’t want to risk anything. 

Even as her reasons were sound for being quiet, the information killed her, as she sat behind her desk, typing up reports for the other agents. Everyone was just as kind as they always were, knowing the pain she was currently going through. It was more than boring to be stuck like this. It was death, to some. 

But god, there was nothing like being in a foreign country, adrenaline running high, sleeping around a little to find the person that she was looking for, and the information she was craving. 

And damn if she didn’t miss the sex. She’d had some beautiful trysts, that was for sure. And damn, if she never slept with Gabriel again, she’d be pissed. He had managed to pull emotions and feelings out of her that she had never felt, and failing that, things she hadn’t felt in years. She would be lying if she said she didn’t enjoy him. 

Which was something she never should have admitted to. The moment she had noticed her feelings, she knew it had been over for her. As hesitant as she had been to accept the truth, it was staring her in the face. 

Her day didn’t go much better after her emotions caught up with her. Her days were just spent waiting, it felt like. She ate a meal that filled her just enough, before her new normal workout. 

Alcaprapth was cuddled up to her hip when she finally decided it was time to sleep. Not that she was really tired; she merely hated the fact she was forcing herself to a bedtime that made sense. 

Her motions could only be mechanical. Everything was set by a standard. Her shower didn't take more than five minutes, no matter how much she wanted to just stand under the spray and let her knots naturally be worked out. Her teeth were brushed, her nightly stretches all ingrained in her head. 

People would certainly be surprised to find out just what it was she did every time she left the country. She couldn’t help being in love with her cover. 

Maybe one day, she’d love herself as well. 

She couldn’t allow her thoughts to turn down that road, however. Thoughts of inadequacies and hatred to what she’d done for so many. 

Her fingers moved over her phone screen, taking much longer than she wanted. A porn site was loaded up, and she clicked around for a few minutes, browsing as she would when she turned on the TV. She was surprised, however, how easy it was to find a man who looked just like the one in her thoughts. Silver hair, lanky but not too much, and tall. The video started at a low volume, and though she was the only one in the room, she made sure that the volume stayed low. She didn’t need her cat running in just yet. 

Her eyes followed the actions with this man and an oddly beautiful blonde came together, lips starting, his hands roaming. Her own memories appeared in her head, thoughts of his hands over her body, movingher just how he wanted, taking without apology, but by taking what he wanted from her, he ensured that she was more than pleased. There had been an enigma in him the last night; showing a desire to be with her, to prove he may be more than just a good fuck, but somethng held him back. 

Her hand moved as the man’s was, in the video, trailing over her marred body. Her voice couldn't help appearing, soft breaths louder than they should be. 

She was certain that if he was there, they wouldn’t be separate for too long, and the scene changed to the woman slowly strip teasing him, leading Nathalie to set the phone down and slowly start to mimic, knowing her own, elegant way of teasing had to be prefered by him. No cheap wiggles, only a slow, sure movement in her body. Her hands moved to her hips, noticing the callouses on her hands. His hands had to mimic hers, with their training. She felt her fingers move between her legs, slowly sliding down her slit, and she brushed over her clit for just a moment. 

The shot of electricity made her breath catch in her throat, and she couldn’t help her moan from the action. Her mind was stuck on his actions against her body, knowing just how he moved against her. 

She let her fingers slip into her, just like the man was doing in the video. His fingers were slightly thicker than hers, that was for sure. One day, she was certain they’d find a time for her to prove it to herself, properly. Her thighs pulled up to her chest, and then they spread, her head moving against the pillow, surprising herself when she softly moaned his name. 

She worked up to three fingers inside herself, before her hips started to move against her fingers, a moan louder than she’d intended. One day, hopefully soon, she’d be cumming on his cock, but this had to be good enough.

She didn’t let her mind mention it would never, could never, be forever. She knew that the lust she was feeling for this man had to stop as soon as possible, that she really couldn’t allow him to infiltrate her this much. 

“I’m so fucked with this man,” she had whispered to herself, before groaning slightly. One day, one of them may need to kill the other. THis was why such relations were heavily discouraged. SHe just couldn’t believe that she was part of the statistics. Stories would be told of how she fell for a Frenchman. Her mind only continued through it all, working over and over. 

It wasn’t too long until she heard Al yelling at her for leaving him in the living room, and he jumped up to curl under her arm. 

She pulled him close, and pressed her face to his back. 

“At least you’ll always love me, however long it takes for me to come back, won’t you, Al?” The cat meowed at her loudly, but she just chuckled and kissed his back, letting him settle into the crook of her arm, his chin on her fingers so she could occasionally scratch him as she slept. 

Her mind drifted off, though it only seemed to drift to the agent she knew that she shouldn’t be thinking of. 

* * *

Nathalie found the last of her papercuts, and she stuck her finger in her mouth, suck it for a second, to take some of the pain away. The door to her apartment was unlocked, and she barely had the energy to play with Al. Not that she wasn’t going to try, of course. 

She clicked with her mouth for Al to run up to her, but she didn’t hear his paws on the ground. 

Yet, he didn’t run up to her like normal. Something certainly felt off. Something seemed darker in her apartment, and the fact she could feel something was off raised her heckles. Thankfully, with how likely it was for agents to be followed, they had provided her the courtesy of her gun, tucked against her ribcage. 

She slowly closed the door, and she knew that no one else was in the apartment. She didn’t turn on a light, however. Her gun was in her hand, and she tapped the watch she wore, a gadget in disguise. The pattern she tapped was too normal for her, muscle memory taking over her for just a moment. SHe knew she had five minutes to secure the place, and five minutes to save her life. 

The living room didn’t show anything new. Her cat tree was down, and she still hadn’t seen the head or tail of her cat. He had to have been kidnapped. It was all she could think of that would make sense. 

For the most part, her bedroom was untouched. Her bed was clearly mussed, as if they’d chased him under the bed. Nothing showed a trap, however, her actions careful, avoiding any trip wires that may have been hiding just under her view. It wouldn’t do for her to make it this far, after all. 

She only found something when she was in her kitchen, the final place to look. Her food was all there. Alcaprapth’s food was missing, but she had to take that as a blessing. 

The note on the counter was written on fine parchment. If only she worked at Guantanamo, she’d know just how they’d track the cat-napper. 

She got a pair of latex gloves, hidden well between her sink basins, among a few other items she’d always need. 

The paper opened smoothly, a beautiful script on the pages. The words were simple on the cream paper. 

“Alcaprapth is now mine. Don’t worry, He’ll be safe. You’re just getting a little too close to our plans.” 

Honestly, it just raised more questions than it did answer any she had. These people had to be stupid, if nothing else. It didn’t quell the anger that flared through her body. Who the fuck stole a cat from a known spy? If they had said she was getting too close, it was clear that they had to know what she was. She swore that it was one of the most stupid things they could’ve done. Hadn’t they ever watched John Wick? Fiction, perhaps, but she certainly understood his actions as she stood in her kitchen. 

She didn’t hold the anger well, when the phone started to ring. She answered it automatically. 

“003.” He started, her voice interjecting just as she’d been trained. 

“Sir,” she said, cool to the touch. 

“What’s going on.” His words weren’t a question; they were a demand. She felt herself slide into professionalism, unwavering. 

“I returned home to find my cat missing, and a note on the counter stating that ‘they’ have him now. I’m getting close to something.” He swore on the other end of the phone. 

“And no one asked you to.” 

“I haven’t been trying to sir,” she said, her professionalism able to withstand a bomb, as it had in the past. 

“We’ll send someone over to do a second sweep,” he then said. “I need you in the offices, right away.” 

“Sir?” 

“If something’s there, we’ve put too much training in you to lose you by a crazy cat-napper.” She wanted to argue with him. She wanted nothing more than to argue and yell at him being cold, but she knew he was right. Her emotions would just get her, or someone else, killed. She couldn’t stand that idea. 

“Sir.” She hung up the phone, and after a moment more, she heard a knocking on the door. She put her gun against her right thigh, moved to the door,put the chain home, and opened it up so it showed half her body, hiding the gun with ease. 

“Oh, Nathalie,” Viktoria said, relief clear on her face. 

“Viktoria?” She knew there hadn’t been any loud sounds from her apartment. 

“I’m so glad you’re ok!” She almost acted like she wanted to hug Nathalie, but Nathalie took a step back, and closed the door slightly. 

“What are you doing here?” The color raced to Viktoria’s face. 

“I… I heard someone break in earlier. I don’t know how they managed to get up here, someone must've pocketed a key. I’ve been waiting for you to get home, so I can tell you what I heard…” 

“They stole my cat,” Nathalie replied, brushing some hair back. The door was closed, and she quickly put the gun into its holster, buttoning her blazer enough to hide the gun, and unlocked the door for Viktoria. 

“I’m so sorry.” Nathalie shook her head. 

“I need to get to the police station so I can file a report,” she then said. 

“Can’t you do that over the phone?” 

“I feel better doing it in person.” Nathalie stepped into the hall, locking her apartment. “Excuse me, Viktoria. I do need to get going.” 

“Take your time. If you need anything, don’t hesitate, ok?” Viktoria reached her hand out to Nathalie’s arm, and squeezed it. Nathalie nodded, before pulling away, putting some relief onto her face. 

“Thank you, VIktoria.” 

Nathalie turned away from her, a seed of suspicion being sowed into her mind. 

She didn’t take too long to get to the office, finding her way to her boss’s office instantly. 

“Sir,” she said, professional as always. 

“003,” he said, motioning for her to sit down. “We need to figure out just who would…” he trailed off, and she finished his statement. 

“Steal my cat, instead of my valuables.” 

“Who knows of him?” 

“Other than us, my neighbor, who sits him when I'm on a mission, and Q.” His brow cocked when he heard that. “And a french agent I have worked with, inthe past.” 

“Hawkmoth,” he responded, knowing just who she meant. 

“Yes, sir. But I know he isn’t who stole Al.”

“We’re going to be checking where he is,” Chris replied. 

“He’s not the type.” 

“In accordance with you,” CHris smoothly replied. 

“He doesn’t have my address, or my name.” 

“But you have found people with less.” 

“He’s just as good, but I know he didn’t.” Her words stopped for a few moments, before she took a breath, forcing herself to think through her words. “I’m trained to spot liars, sir. I know just what someone will want to do with me by the end of a three minute conversation. I can list at least three employees in this building at this moment who would gladly take me to a bar, then home. I know how to read people. If Hawkmoth were to be coming to steal from me, why didn’t my computer vanish? Why didn’t any of my flash drives go missing? Why my cat?” 

“To sow doubt.” 

“The only person who I have a doubt about is my neighbor, VIktoria.” 

“You’re applying the rule of checkers to chess,” he said, void of emotion. 

“Which is why I’m still alive.” They were at an impasse for five minutes, Nathalie staring him down, as he waited for her to back down. 

They at last were able to break it when someone came into the room, looking between them. 

“Sir, we haven’t found anything out of the ordinary. They’ll be done in twenty minuets.” 

“Can I go home?” she asked Chris, looking directly at him. Instead of arguing with her as he vastly wished to, he took a small, yet deep breath, looking to the side. 

“You can leave here, but do not go home before 9 tonight.” 

“Thank you, sir,” she replied, standing up, and walking out. She knew he didn’t believe her. Chris had met Viktoria in the past, when Nathalie had invited him over for dinner. The way they’d run into Viktoria showed there was little to no threat from her, and Nathalie still hadn’t shared the information about the gun. How could she actually offer that information without admitting to the privacy violation, not to mention the broken laws? She’d be centered at the very least, and fired and imprisoned at the worst. She just needed more evidence. 

Granted, she now had some time to burn. 

The fact that she would be going home to a properly empty apartment hit her when she was in the grocery store. Lost in her thoughts, no amount of training would have helped her when she quite literally ran into a man with a thick French accent, her shock clear on her face. His name tore from her lips, soft, as his hand moved to her shoulder, helping to steady her in her confusion. 

“Gabriel,” she whispered, shocked. It was clear that he was just as surprised as she was. 

“What are you doing here?” he asked, his brow cocking, taking some sort of normality in his reaction. She couldn’t shake the lightning that went through her body at his unmasked French accent.

She moved her hand to grab around him, taking a grapefruit for her breakfast. Her current plight was pushed back, not allowing her emotions to tear her up too much. 

“Getting the last few things for dinner, and breakfast.” They hadn’t moved away from each other, yet. Though they’d been on many missions together, he was clearly impressed by her outfit. Everything was professional, but the edge of style she offered was shown without apology. 

“Do you have enough for two?” he asked, his hand still on her. It moved from her shoulder, however, onto her waist. He only let it rest there for a moment, before he seemed to gain control of himself again, stepping back from her.

She had to assume he was on a vacation, but even still, he was just as suave as ever. 

“I do,” she replied, looking at him with the slightest of smirks. “Are you asking if I have enough for you?” she asked, teasing. 

“And if I can help eat it.” He didn’t look anywhere but her face, but she could feel his desire to look over her. Highly unprofessional. 

“Only if you make breakfast,” she softly said to him, biting her lip for just a second. 

“Deal.” The last few moments of shopping didn’t take too long. Her thoughts were conflicted, knowing he was suddenly in England. The coincidence was too strong. 

She took a moment to look at her phone, finding a single text telling her they were putting her on leave for a few days. Unpleasant, but perhaps Gabriel would be able to help with filling the time. 

* * *

“I still don’t know your name,” Gabriel whispered to her, his hands on her bare hips, as he was buried to the hilt in her rotating hips. She had insisted on him on his back, and slowly bringing him to a finish that “he would remember for years.” Her hands moved from his, up her sides and her breasts, stretching as she intentionally tightened around his shaft. They both softly moaned at the action, before he started to urge her to move. She gladly did, leaning down and kissing his lips. 

Once she broke their connection, she leaned just a little further, to his ear, softly biting it before whispering to him. 

“Nathalie.” His lips moved to her shoulder, kissing the bare skin, and he was able to intimately hear her moan against him. 

“Nathalie,” he softly moaned against her skin, and she couldn’t help moving a little faster. One of the hands on her hip moved to her clit, slowly rubbing the nerves as she moved on him. Her swear was soft, as she pressed her face into his shoulder. She felt her orgasm crash over her before she was ready, her lips moved to his shoulder, and without thinking, she left a deep mark on the junction between his shoulder and neck. He couldn’t help messing up their movements, pressing deep into her and spilling into the condom. 

She kissed the skin right behind his ear, moaning softly as she felt him tense. 

“Worth it?” she softly whispered. 

“Entirely,” he replied, trying to catch his breath. He thrusted a couple extra times, pulling moans from Nathalie’s throat as he did. He kissed her shoulder, gentle. His fingers moved over her back, sweeter than she’d ever imagined. She didn’t want to move, and think of what she was doing, other than moving her head over his heart, letting his currently spent cock slip out of her. 

“I’m glad I ran into you tonight,” she softly said, the words more of a confession than she’d ever intended. 

“Did something happen?” His fingers stopped moving, instead flattening against her back, pulling her close to him. 

“My cat was stolen.” A confession or not, Nathalie knew how to use vulnerability. 

“How long did you have him?” 

“Years.” His heart didn’t speed up, and she moved her fingers to gently trace a pattern over his skin. 

“Perhaps they will find him.” 

“If I’m lucky,” she responded. A few moments of silence, and she kissed his chest, before sitting up. “Are you going to join me in the shower?” she asked, pulling her robe off the ground, and covering up slightly. She pulled her dark hair out of the collar, shaking it slightly. 

She felt his body move so he was pressed against her back, a leg on either side of hers. 

“I have half a mind to just keep you here,” he murmured, kissing her shoulders. 

“Who said our activities have to stop at the doorway?” she replied, standing up. She heard him take off the condom, bue he was soon in the shower with her. 

“If you insist,” he half growled to her, though it was clear he was plenty happy with the way things were progressing. She wouldn’t stop him from having more fun with her, after all. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, throwing a note here as well. I love y'all so much; thank you for reading so far. It's the chapter half way point,a nd plot is going to be a lot more important. If you look, everything is now in place for you to figure out the components of the twist!


	8. Broken Boy Soldier

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Broken Boy Soldier- The Raconteurs

Officially, they had given her ‘trauma leave’. It was a stupid, flimsy lie, but Nathalie was relishing every second she had with him. They’d fucked in almost every place she’d thought of, from the front hallway to her living room, and her bed. It was vastly unlike her to act in this way. She had taken a few moments to herself, however, officially breaking up with Markus. Not that he’d ever responded to her texts, anyway. She’d never loved him, and though she wasn’t really with Gabriel yet, it was better to be with him without that guilt.

They had more than just fucked, though. In the time between them coming undone in the other’s arms, they spoke of philosophy, art, movies, everything. She was surprised how much she agreed with him upon, and even more surprised at how well they seemed to click together. He was intelligent, had an eye for art and beauty, and was unapologetic for his love of what he was doing. She was able to see the love he had for France, and the fact he clearly wanted to protect his kin. She couldn’t deny that she found admiration in his actions. 

Of course, it wasn’t the only thing that she found. Hope blossomed in her chest, hope for a better world. The way he spoke about everything he wanted to do, the people and places he cared about, spoke mountains to what he was about, in his heart. An admiration she hadn't felt for someone in years fell in the pit of her stomach. 

And she wasn’t even going to touch the trust she was feeling with him. 

They were currently on the sofa, the evening darkness slowly slipping through her windows. Her face was against his chest, slowly drawing patterns in his chest, not even really thinking of what she was doing. 

“What are you thinking of?” he asked, his fingers running over her side, and she couldn’t help her contented sigh. 

“Why don’t you guess?” she whispered. He chuckled at her words, and she knew he felt her smile. 

“You leave the world open,” he said, and his words offered her nothing but a shiver. “Shall we play twenty questions?” she couldn’t help the laugh, at last, her endorphins catching up with her. 

“Twenty questions? A little juvenile, Mr. Agreste,” she whispered but propped her head up to rest on his chest. “Start guessing.”

“Is it about a mission?” Her head cocked a little to the side, an answer in itself. She wouldn’t be able to answer that if she wanted to. No matter just how secure his body against hers was, she knew the limits. “Is it about me?” His words pulled another, soft laugh from her. 

“A little vain, Mr. Agreste,” she teased, her fingers moving over his arm, feeling the hidden muscle. 

“That’s not an answer,” he pointed out. But, she felt his muscles softly shake under her motions, and he drew a shaky breath. 

“I know,” she replied, moving to straddle him again. She was happy with seeing him under her, a position of power that she rarely really got. She knew that he felt the same way, though. Her fingers moved to an old scar, gently tracing the edges of it. It looked to be an old stab wound, not deep enough to have penetrated anything, and she was absolutely glad it hadn’t. She wouldn’t have been here if it did. 

“I can only assume that you are,” he responded to her, his hands over her thighs. She leaned down for a moment, as his hands slid under her ass, throwing her hair to one side, and kissing his jaw. 

“I have to hold some of my secrets,” she confided in him. “As much of a blessing being with you is.” 

“Your body is blessing enough,” he murmured to her, his lips moving to her shoulder before she pulled back, allowing him to look over her body, just as littered with scars as his own was. She hummed for a second, before taking his hands and moving them to her waist, where he moved his thumbs over her skin, a soft action, compared with the war their bodies showed. He guided her torso to lean on his, his hands moving down to her hips. In the short time that they had been together, he had learned her body better than they should have. He tilted her hips just right, his lips moving to hers, long, sweet kisses. 

Nathalie couldn’t help her soft sigh when he slowly started to thrust his cock against her core. His hands moved her hips in a way that enabled him to grind against her clit, pressing through her folds. Her hands moved to his wrists, gently holding him. They’d spent the day in bed, something both of them had admitted to not really enjoying doing. But, it was hard to get out of bed as they got everything out of their systems. They had had months and years of their hidden half romance to build up to the last day, and what their day so far had consisted of. 

Even as sore as she was, however, she couldn’t deny that she more than felt desired, she felt delectable. He offered everything she’d ever wanted to be desired by, and she offered everything that could help him heal. 

Nathalie tilted her hips out of his hands, letting him slide home into her. They both softly groaned, and Gabriel moved his face to her shoulder. It was just a moment before he bit into her shoulder, his hips starting to move. He didn’t bite hard, just enough to suck a mark into her shoulder. She couldn’t even muster up enough will to care about it, either. She wouldn’t be going on assignment for some time. 

Their finishes came sooner than expected, their chests pressed together, and she kissed his jaw, the only place she could from the angle they were at. 

He chuckled, and she felt it in her own chest. It was a warm sound, and it was almost as if her hum fit in perfectly with him. 

“I haven’t felt like this in years,” Nathalie whispered to him. “Like a teen, on their first adventure in this world, waiting to figure out what feels good.” She paused for a moment. “I really shouldn’t share that, hm?” He moved, pulling her back to his chest, his lips moving to her neck. 

“Neither have I,” he replied to her, his hands lacing with hers, before wrapping their arms around her. “Not since I lost my wife.” She instantly bit her lip, knowing that story was the truth. She didn’t know how she was so certain of him. He could be fictionalizing all this, giving an excuse for why he wasn’t going to stay, why he would turn tail. 

“With our jobs, maybe we shouldn’t be saying that much,” she whispered to him. 

“Perhaps not… But it’s a little too late for that, isn’t it?” She chuckled at that. 

“You’re right,” she replied. “We barely know anything about each other.” 

“I think we can change that.” Their conversation started to drift off into conversations about their interests, finding more similarities than differences. 

“Why do you think we managed to find each other?” Nathalie asked, after a moment. 

“I don’t know,” he replied. “Too much has happened in our lives to believe in coincidence, after all.” 

“Yes,” she replied, lips pressing together. “Is it fate?” 

“I don’t believe in that, either,” he informed her. She couldn’t deny that she agreed with that. Fate held little interest in her life. 

“We should go get lunch,” Nathalie said, after a few too many beats of silence. 

“Is your bathroom big enough for two people?” 

“Are you going to clean my back, Gabriel?” 

“If you want me to,” he whispered in response, nipping her shoulder. 

“I’ll race you,” she teased. 

“A challenge this early in the day?” he teased. 

“Yep,” she said, and quickly got out of his hands, racing him down the short hallway, winning but only by a foot. They turned on the shower, and when it was up to temp, they both got in. Once her cloth was lathered up, Gabriel started to clean her body, and his lips pressed over the mark he had already left. 

“You’re making a child of me,” he murmured to her. She started to lather up her hair, humming softly. 

“Is that so bad?” she asked, taking the cloth from him and cleaning his body, rubbing it carefully over scars. She moved the rag behind his neck, and pulled him down, into the water spray. Their kiss was wet but full of emotions better left unsaid. 

“I want to be your home,” he murmured. 

“We’ll have to see if your son likes me,” Nathalie replied, moving her hands down to his chest. “I don’t know how he’d react to a new woman in your life, after all.” She looked to the side until he gave her a soft kiss. 

“We’ll worry about that when it comes.” 

They finished showering fairly quickly, though there were plenty of extra touches, needed or not. 

* * *

Gabriel let Nathalie get out first, watching her perfect ass get out, before being covered by a towel. He stood under the stream for a few extra minutes to ensure everything was entirely washed off him. He still didn’t know if he should consider himself lucky to have run into Nathalie. Everything about this vacation had screamed perfection, from the morning to the last night, to her half hanging off him like he hung the world. 

He wouldn’t admit to acting like she hung the stars and moon, however. 

Gabriel walked into the room to find Nathalie already dressed in some well-fitted jeans, a light tee, and some cute sandals. If he knew her, he knew they were more than just stylish. He couldn’t help the smile his lips split into, knowing he looked every instance of a dork. 

“You’re staring, Gabriel,” she said. 

“You’re beautiful,” he replied, seeing the lightest of reds over her cheeks. He meant every word, and he was sure that she could tell that. He never would lie to her like that. 

“As much as I enjoy the view, you should get dressed.” He nodded, though he did wish he could just stay in her apartment, waiting for her to return. Regardless, he did get dressed, into something similarly chic, and he held her hand until the door, intending on grabbing her hand again when she locked the door. He could hear her talking, though if he was asked what she had said, Gabriel would have been lost, unsure of the context or questions if they even were. His mind had stopped translating the English from her lips temporarily. 

He couldn’t actually be seeing what he thought he was seeing. 

“Oh, Gabriel.” he heard, to his right. He didn’t know why it sounded like Nathalie was down a tunnel, though. “This is my neighbor, Vikt…” the name was cut off, when Gabriel spoke, his voice much more stable than he actually was. 

“Emilie Agreste,” Gabriel supplied for Nathalie. 

“Sorry?” She asked, shooting a look between the other two. 

“This, Nathalie, is my presumed dead wife.” If she said something else, he didn’t hear her, as he moved up to Emilie, stopping a meter away from her, He easily towered over her, but he left plenty of room between the two of them. No contact could easily be made. 

“Why? Why did you leave like that?” The anger in his voice was cool, and he was aware of just how tense his muscles were at that moment. Memories of, what he had thought, her blood on the ground, the hair shorn. He thought of how bad the memories had gotten, the times he had fallen asleep after their son, numbing himself in some way. 

“I couldn’t handle it,” she replied, half hissing it at him. She couldn’t meet his eyes, but that didn’t mean her tone wasn’t worse than ever. “I couldn’t handle you, your job, the way you’d treat Adrien when you were home.” 

“That’s a lie,” Gabriel replied, instantly, upon the last accusation. 

“You treated him as if nothing was wrong! Like you hadn’t just walked out on him, over and over, and over again.” She shook her hair over her shoulder, huffing slightly. “That’s not easy on a child.” Gabriel shook his head when he heard that. “It wasn’t any easier when you were gone! I waited hour by hour, never knowing if you would come back to me on your feet, without your feet, or in a box!” Emilie looked pointedly away. Gabriel couldn’t even muster anything else to say. 

After looking at both for a few moments, Emilie turned away from them both and walked into her apartment. Gabriel turned to Nathalie after a few moments, numb on the inside and outside. 

“Gabriel, I think we should go have some coffee, in my apartment.” Nathalie took Gabriel’s hand, tugging him gently to the door. She unlocked it again with one hand and pulled him into the apartment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there ya have it! Em faked her death, as I'm sure many of you have figured out. There’s just one question you should be asking. Do you think a woman who would fake her own death would be honest about why she did?


	9. Let's Kill Tonight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let's Kill Tonight- P!ATD

When an agent began their training, they were broken down to the building blocks of their psyche. The person who left their family would never return the same. The suspicion to others, yet unthinking loyalty that an agent felt to their nation was more than expected; the unwavering loyalty was the goal. Perfect robots who would use their training in the most beneficial way to their state. 

Gabriel knew just what his work held for him. Pain worse than anyone could imagine. He had thought that he had already understood that. He thought he had been done with the pain in his life. 

Had he had fewer resources, he would have found himself questioning every move she had made. He had found himself checking with his own resources in France, to ensure that she was who she has said she was. He had wanted nothing more than to find a woman who loved him, and she had been the person, at first. She had been beautiful, and perfect, soft in the right ways, but able to tell him off when he needed her. She didn’t hide what she was when he had met her. 

Met her. He didn’t even know if that had been orchestrated, either. He had run into her quite literally, his briefcase opening, but none of the papers flying out. She had received a small bruise on her hip, an area he had explored with great interest after he had bought her dinner, that night. 

Her body had pressed against his with the easiest of pressures, turning his mind into mush, the harshest feeling he had found in ages. Her every word was nectar, and how he hadn’t found himself questioning her actions made it even more confusing to him. She had been too perfect to love him, hadn’t she? 

He felt worse than cheated. He felt stupid. She had been his soul mate. He had thought that she was perfect, every inch. He closed his eyes for a second, and when he opened them again, he turned back into the conversation that was being held in front of him. 

“Fell from a great height,” Q said, reading from the screen in front of him. Nathalie was standing next to him, her arms crossed, back to him. That was more than a little stupid of her, that was for sure. 

“Faster than she should have,” Nathalie pointed out. The slight look of confusion that the techie sent her made her expand. “That height, that video, that wasn’t her. It was too fast to be a body, isn’t it? Rather than a body...” 

“Than a body, a dummy.” Q shook his head, as he finished Nathalie’s thought. 

He shook his head, hearing that. He knew his wife too well to think she would have… He stopped short. 

Thoughts flew from his mind for a moment, and he, at last, moved up to the two who were looking at the screen. 

“This is illegal,” Q again grumbled, his eyes slipping to Gabriel for just a moment. The database was open before them all, leading Gabriel to look over the images ahead. 

“Was that her?” Gabriel asked, ignoring the comment. 

“We’re not sure.” 

“Your job is safe with us, Q,” Nathalie said to him, her hands moving to her sides, straightening slightly. The fact Gabriel was slightly caught within himself meant that she would have to take over much more of this than he wanted her to. He wanted to run home to Adrien and tell him just how much he loved his son, how much the boy meant to him. 

“That’s vastly beside the point,” he snipped, looking at the agent he had worked with so much. Both of them looked at her for longer than they should have. “And you know it, 003.” 

“What?” she asked, looking between them. 

“If anyone else had asked this, you know exactly what would have happened.” 

“A reprimand, followed by more desk duty. But you know this is so much bigger than just a scorned ex-lover. And, you and James separately owe me one.”

“Unfortunately, I’m quite aware.” His words clipped at the end, crisp and clean, and much too harsh for Gabriel’s preference. “It looks like Ms. Viktoria Greene only exists for those who don’t know how to look.” He clicked a few buttons, typed for a few more before more documents populated the screen. “Thankfully, all the systems have a backdoor for me. None of the documents you would normally reference match up entirely. They look perfect, on the surface, of course. Correct dates, names, but the serial numbers don’t add up.” He clicked another page, and he started to speak again before Gabriel interrupted him. 

“When did they get created?” 

“2006.” He felt his lips press together, forcing his breathing to stay level. It had been the year he suspected her of cheating on him with another man. He couldn’t deny that the man wasn’t beautiful, though. 

“Can you get into the French database?” he asked, and Q looked at him as if he was crazy. 

“Do you think I would tell-” Gabriel fixed him with a stare. He knew he had perfected his ‘if you tell me no, I’ll pull out another fingernail’ look, but that wasn't what he offered the man in front of him. The look was broken, unwilling to hold the pain from his eyes. To have been betrayed not once, but twice, by the person you had loved the most in the world, broke a person. They looked at each other for a few minutes, before Q finally sighed, turning back to the screen. One had shot out. “Sit there. This will take a few minutes.” 

Nathalie joined him on the sofa that still had cat fur stuck to it. She didn’t know exactly what to do, other than to offer him a hand. He took it after a few moments, his fingers lacing between hers. 

“I’m not going to tell you it’s going to be okay,” Nathalie started, and Gabriel squeezed her hand, stopping her. 

“We have a mission,” Gabriel whispered to her. “Hopefully one we will both walk away from.” He couldn’t meet her eyes. He never wanted Nathalie to actually meet Emilie and the fact that they had been friends for years? He knew it would be hard for everyone involved. 

This was going to be hell. He knew that. He just hoped that it wasn’t going to be for too long. 

They lapsed into silence until Q pulled them back to him. 

“Can you see if there was anything before 1995?” A few clicks of his mouse and Q found the information. Thank the gods for his speed reading. 

“That is when she began to exist to the French,” he said. “Anything further back will be determined if the files got digitized,” Q warned when Gabriel opened his mouth to ask something. 

“What do you know?” Gabriel asked, looking at the screen. He could feel the tension in his body. 

“She was a Russian operative,” Q said after a few more minutes of clicking and typing. “Until they lost her.” Gabriel’s voice became strained. 

“1998.” 

“Correct.” Q clicked a few more things. “How did you know?” he asked, shooting a glance before continuing. “Some of my agents like to peek ahead in files to try and one-up me, but that couldn’t work here, could it?” Gabriel caught the admiration in his bespeckled eyes. Those eyes shot behind them to see James, and he held up a slender finger to the man, telling him to wait. 

“That was the year I became an agent,” Gabriel replied, his voice soft. “And the year we married. We stayed so until 2006 when I thought she…” he had to pause for a moment to steady himself. “When I thought she had been murdered.” 

He saw Nathalie open her mouth for a moment, before closing it. 

“She targeted you,” Q said, after a few moments. 

“I see that,” Gabriel replied, an edge to his voice he really wished wasn’t there. The hurt he had felt when he had lost Emilie flashed in his heart, even as his brain screamed at him to ignore that. The chasm in his chest was opening further than he had ever imagined it could have. The keys stopped, and Q pulled away from his computer, before turning to face Gabriel. It was clear he wanted to say something. 

“Don’t think me insensitive,” Q started, brushing a couple of his curls aside as they got into his eyes again. Gabriel bit the words that wanted to come out of his mouth. Insensitive was not the first word he thought of, but he didn’t correct him yet. “But you are not the first agent to have the one they loved turn on them.” After a moment, Q nodded to the agent waiting for him. 

James moved to stand next to Q, his hand laced with the younger’s. 

“When I was a much, much younger man,” James said, his body unmoving, no emotion betrayed in his voice or body. “I had an agent who I was often paired up with. He was also British, or I thought. Alec Treyalan.” There was the smallest of catches in the last name, though. “I believed him to be more than just my work partner. We shared everything.” The pause wouldn’t have been caught for most people. “At first.

“See, Alec was the child of two lienz cossack, and he found fault with the way his family was handled. He decided to blame the children for the sins of the fathers. If he had killed me, he would have succeeded. But he forgot that, even though it had been seven years, I still had known him.” James looked Gabriel directly in the eyes, at his next words. “I had to kill my first love in cold blood. I could have arrested him, and I didn’t. I made a choice for what would be the best for my nation, and myself.” The unasked question held softly in the air. 

Could Gabriel, if it came to that? Could he kill the person he was looking up? Yet, the gaze broke after a few moments, and James looked at Q. “Are you ready for dinner?” 

“Shortly. I’m just aiding 003 with some research.” Another voice popped up, one that Gabriel wasn’t familiar with. He turned around to see the woman who walked in. She was short with beautiful dark hair, mismatched eyes, and more scars than he had seen before on someone, even in their profession. 

“I smell an off the books mission,” she said, looking at James. It was clear she held admiration for the older man, and Gabriel immediately understood her openness to be her cover. He wasn’t sure just what could be trusted, coming from her. 

“004,” Q said, after a few moments. “What are you talking about.” She gave them all a look, and she walked up to Gabriel, offering her hand. 

“Fianna,” she introduced herself, her hand extending to him. 

“Gabriel,” he said, even as his mind screamed at him to not say his name. He should have known more about her before he started to devolve information, but his name had already slipped from his lips. 

“Good. Now, what are we doing.” The silence was obvious until Fianna spoke up again. “Look, you guys have two options. One, tell me what’s going on, and have another agent who knows how to get a mission done.” She pointed at James. “He will not be going, that’s clear. Two, you don’t tell me, and I leave our boss a note telling him to look into what’s going on.” Gabriel knew she spoke the truth. He looked at Nathalie, who took the initiative. 

“It isn’t a mission, Fianna.” The mismatched eyes narrowed when she heard that, not accepting the answer. 

“My wife faked her death to get away from me, but it wasn’t the first time,” Gabriel spoke, finally. The French accent was still heard, and Fianna looked at them, waiting for more information. James took the moment to speak up. 

“Q, I’ll be in the Aston,” he said, giving Q a quick kiss on the cheek, before taking his leave. Fianna moved to sit on a chair, crossing her leg. 

“Then what’s up with her? You’re still looking.” After a few moments, Q pulled up a photo of what seemed to be a red brand, as well as the same symbol on a planted pot from Emilie’s balcony. “Stigma,” she instantly said. 

“What?” Nathalie asked. 

“That’s Stigma.” The confused looks made her frown. “Give me a moment.” She didn’t take long to get to her desk and return, giving Gabriel a file full of documents. “That brand is their sign.” The simple squiggle looked like a snake who formed into an ‘s’ shape. “I’ve been looking into them for a while; they’re about Russian Purity.” she shook her head a little. “A stupid idea, but that’s not important. They’re trying to take over certain places, mainly through economic warfare. Lots of stock trading, and corporate sabotage.”

“I think you just gave us our break,” Nathalie said to her, after a moment. Gabriel didn’t say a word, seeing a photo of Emilie from when she had just found out she was carrying their son. He didn’t want to lament on that memory, knowing it would make what was going to happen even harder. Everything reminded him just of how intensely he had idolized her after he thought she had died. 

“And you just gave me my break,” Fianna said. “When are we leaving?” 

“Tomorrow,” Nathalie replied, taking a breath. Then, to Q, “We’re going dark.” 

“Why do you all always insist upon that?” He was clearly exasperated, before removing to get two guns, a burner phone, as well as three extra clips apiece. “They don’t have trackers, but they do have recording in them. Only use them for when that’s needed.” He walked over to both of the women, handing them each half. “If James hadn’t trained you, 004, and if 004 wasn’t going with you, 003, then this all wouldn’t be happening.”

“That’s not quite right, is it, Q?’ Nathalie replied a brow cocking. “You trust us both. And by extension, you trust Gabriel.” Q looked her right in the eyes and lowered his voice. Enough that Gabriel could hear him talk, but not the exact words. 

“This is his vendetta, Nathalie. This is Fianna’s mission. You keep yourself safe before rushing in and trying to save the day.” 

“I’ll be fine, Q,” she softly promised. “You won’t need to replace a single agent.” 

“Know you’re calling on that Favor right now.” Nathalie nodded when she heard that. It wasn’t the most favorable idea, but this was the hill she was willing to die on. 

“If this works out right, I’m going to owe you more than you did me.” 

“You’re going to owe me an entire armada,” he replied, shaking his head, as he turned away. 

“Here I thought it was just some bullet casings.” 

“That’s better than me,” Fianna whispered. “I lost a comm last mission. My first one!” she shook her head. “We should be back in a month,” Fianna then said, calling over to Q as he packed his bag. 

“Gabriel, let’s go. We have all the information we need now.” Gabriel handed Fianna the file back, looking at Nathalie. He took a deep breath and nodded. They didn’t go back to Nathalie’s house, however. Fianna was their best bet, as she had extra beds, and she hadn't been to Nathalie’s apartment. 

* * *

“We don’t know what her plan is,” Nathalie said. “Gabriel, it’s been years, but you need to use what you knew of her to help us. You’re the one who knew her.” 

“I don’t know what could be expected of me. She always had on a front with me.” 

“You’re an agent,” Nathalie replied, taking a bite of the pasta that Fianna had made. “Use your skills.” He paused for a few moments, before starting to explain his thoughts. It would be highly unlikely that she would attack with guns, she just didn’t have the army to do that. The opposition would be vastly too good, and Fianna had shot down the idea. They hadn’t been getting a supply of guns at any point. 

“It’s… a joint mission,” she ended up admitting. “I have a friend in the Russian government who wanted my help with this, and he was certain that his goal was in England. Turns out he was right.” They continued, finally settling on the option of her trying some kind of cyber attack. 

“The most recent information they have for our security is from before this Q took over,” Fianna informed them. 

“Which means they’ll be preparing for worse,” Gabriel offered. 

“Perhaps, but Q has only had one breach in his decade or more.” Nathalie tapped her fork against the plate, thinking. 

“It’s not against the government,” Gabriel said, after a few moments. “She doesn’t have a vendetta against the Government. It’s against the people who are wasteful, who took from her. She’s going to be targeting businesses that took over Russian businesses.”

“That makes sense,” Fianna said after a moment. “The government wouldn’t have an idea about her, until then. Why target them; this will just be some minor terrorism.” 

“The question is, where will she be doing this from?” 

“Siberia,” Gabriel said. “You remember how desolate it was.” Their discussion devolved into probable places, Fianna taking a map out of a closet, rolling it open. It was marked up a bit, but they worked around them, using small pins to show where they thought she might be. Their conversation lasted until midnight. 

“We should all get to bed,” Fianna said, clearing the map from their conversation. “I’m going to clean this up, let me know if you need anything.” She took the dishes away, and Nathalie guided Gabriel to the room she knew they would use. It didn’t take long for them to both sit at the edge of the bed. Neither was really up for sleeping, just yet, but they couldn’t just sit there for ages. 

Nathalie stood up and started to undress when it was clear he wasn’t going to talk. 

“What are you doing?” 

“Getting ready for bed,” she replied, certainly showing off her assets without being obvious about it. The clothes she had to sleep in were just practical enough for her to jump out of bed if needed but comfortable enough to sleep in. 

“I’ll…” She stood up as he moved past her, and her hand went to his chest, stopping him. The cotton tee he was wearing was warm to the touch, and she felt his muscles moving under it. 

“You’re not leaving this room,” she said. “Either we’re going to talk, or you’re going to sit down and wait for sleep.” It was clear that he wasn’t happy with the options presented, but he didn't say anything about it. He moved to the bed, taking off his shoes, and looked at her, half waiting for her to speak again. 

“Nathalie, I didn’t mean for you to get caught in this.” 

“You thought she was dead. I don’t expect an apology, Gabriel. How could I?” She brushed her hair back, pulling it into an elastic. “We both have pasts, the only difference is that mine won’t come back to haunt me in our future.” She caught her own phrasing just after it slipped out of her lips. Yet, she didn’t falter her look at him. “If that’s what you’ll want after this.” 

“You can’t…” 

“No. I can’t. But it’s your choice. I’ll be here when you make it.” She moved to the bed, getting under the covers and not facing him, for the moment. What was it she could actually say to him? Their words meant less than nothing at this stage. She had shown her cards, and they were waiting to be played. She didn’t know where they stood, and she wasn’t going to force him into more than he would be ready for. 

He had laid near her, facing the ceiling. He only woke a few hours later when he heard Nathalie get out of the bed. 

“I’ll be back,” she promised, softly, and he fell back asleep before he was ready. They needed their energy before the mess they would be going into the next day. 

* * *

“Aren’t you a big, strong woman,” Nathalie said, throwing her hair back, eyes locking with Emilie’s lighter eyes. “Beating up your ex-husband’s partner.” she spat some blood onto the floor in front of Emilie. Her tongue shot out to lick her lip, feeling the burning of a split lip, but it was nothing compared to what could happen. 

“Oh, and my boyfriend’s plaything,” Emilie said. Nathalie arched an eyebrow when she heard that. 

“Is that supposed to mean something to me? You’re nothing more than a girl crying for the attention she can’t find at a pub anymore.” 

“You really shouldn’t be saying that. You have no idea just who you’ve been fucking with.” Nathalie bit the immediate response back, before offering another one. 

“No, obviously. You were the bitch who I wanted to befriend because she took care of my fucking cat.” Nathalie threw her hair back again, looking at Emilie. “Now, you’re nothing to me. You’re repeating an overused plot, to prove to the man you threw aside that you’re not worthless. You’re a whiny little bitch who’s trying to prove to her family that she’s worth something, by leaving a string of hurt and broken people in your wake. You use your…” Nathalie wanted to continue until she felt her jaw explode in more pain, her head flying to the side. She lost consciousness, everything fading away around her. 

* * *

She was jolted awake with the sudden pain on her shoulder, the scream from her throat silent. Her head flicked up, watching as Emilie brought her bat back up, setting it back alone the implements. Nathalie felt the split bone, but it brought her back to where she was. 

“Lot of effort to do to the person who’s fucked your husband,” she said, voice thinner than she’d wanted. She felt the end of a baseball bat against her toes, and she looked up through her hair, at Emilie. “You know that won’t do the job right.” Her voice was showing fatigue. Her eyes barely opened. “Or are you too much of a pussy?”

“Why are you fighting for this man? You have terrible choices in men, after all. Both your recent partners are just my cast-offs.”

“Yeah, you and Markus? I’m way past that, ‘Viktoria.’” It was a slight lie, but it made more sense than she’d ever wanted to admit. 

Emilie started to speak again, but she was cut off by the sound of gunfire in the hallway. There was a soft swear word, and she looked at the door. 

“Consider yourself lucky for now,” Emilie said. The bat was discarded far enough away that Nathalie couldn’t touch it, but Emilie gave one last parting blow, an open-handed hit to her collarbone. The pain exploded, and when Nathalie came back to, she could hear more shouting outside. She forced herself through the pain, to look at how she was secured. Just a bit of rope, how pedestrian. 

She managed to get one hand free, and the door flew open, her head whipping up. 

Nathalie had never been more glad to see Gabriel in her life. Every part of him was covered by some kind of blood, but she didn’t care in the slightest. He was beautiful, and he raced to her, his soft words French. She could distinguish parts of his words, but nothing for certain. 

“Get me out of here,” she whispered in return to him, her free hand moving to his shoulder. This would be hard enough without the ties. He lifted her up to her feet, but she felt the sprain on her ankle, and she swore. “I can’t walk,” she said. 

“Fianna is covering us,” Gabriel whispered to her, a promise. His hands went under her knees, and she was lifted up, into his arms. “I have you, Nathalie. Don’t worry.” She tucked her arms around his neck, and her face into his shoulder, careful of her collarbone. 

“My gun is in the corner,” she whispered. How Gabriel had fallen in love with such a stupid woman, Nathalie would never know. It was clear why Emilie had only lasted a year in the Russian Ops. 

“We don’t have time,” he replied, opening the door, and looking out, before navigating through the hallways. They were out quicker than expected, and Fianna caught back up with them a kilometer later, at the car they had apparently established as a meeting point. Once Nathalie was set into the front seat, buckled in, she passed out, the darkness consuming her pain and uncertainty. 

Nothing mattered in those moments. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for going MIA in this last week! Got a little burnt out and this chapter kicked my ass!


	10. Renegade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Renegade- Styx

Gabriel could hear Nathalie breathing in the next room. He didn’t want to wake her, yet. He knew that she would take time to wake up, and he and Fianna were going to look over her until then. 

Q’s voice disappeared, and the click of the phone disconnecting rang in his ear for a moment, and he sighed, leaning back for a moment. Everything had been happening so quickly to and around him that he hadn’t had enough time to process what had been going on. His emotions had been in turmoil since he landed in the UK. He knew from the second he had touched down he could see Nathalie, but there were enough people in London the probability had been small. The chance meeting at the store had really been nothing more than that: chance. He’d hop0ed, yes, but he hadn’t been expecting to see the woman of his dreams. 

Now, she was laying in the bed of his motel room, with Fianna monitoring her, and changing her bandages. He assumed that it hadn’t been the first time that they had this situation had happened. 

He leaned forward, his hands holding his face. He had thought for the last however many years that the woman he had pledged his life to had hers ripped from her. The duality of the betrayal mixed with the fact that she felt it had been her only out in the entire world. She felt that she had needed to kill herself for him to accept she needed to move on. Was it his devotion? His blind loyalty to her? 

He knew it was neither. It was the fact she was cheating on her real husband through all these years. She had needed a cover so she could live in secrecy before returning to him. It was just a small blessing she had left Adrien and he when his son was so long. His son, not their son. She had revoked any rights to him when she made Adrien find her. She would’ve known. 

The rage slowly boiling in his body was stronger than he had expected. Sure, when he was grieving, he had gone through that stage, the anger at her leaving and him not having the “back up” parents often spoke about. She had left for no reason that would make sense. Yet, this was proof he needed to move on. He had thought that that area of his heart had been locked away for years. He was surprised, more than anything, that he was wrong, and he had a lot more of his mind to work on than he had ever thought. Perhaps Nathalie was the opportunity he really needed. His peahen. 

And, right now, quite literally his partner in crime. How could he ever pay her back, or guarantee her a life she was worth?

“She’s starting to wake up,” Fianna said, walking up to Gabriel, and sitting across from him. “She is mostly fine. Her collarbone is most likely broken, but she can work through it, so long as she doesn’t get caught. Emilie almost broke her toes, but we got there in time.” 

“Good,” he replied, and they drifted off into silence. Fianna was silent, not pressing for his words quite yet. “You must…” She cut him off. 

“You don’t need to explain anything, Gabriel. We all have secrets we’d rather not share.” Her lips sadly turned up. “I doubt anyone has shared my story with you.” His confusion was clear. “The reason I’m sitting across from you, the reason I even know Nathalie? SIS had followed my investigation, murder, and cover up, of someone who didn’t quite deserve to still be here. No one’s brought charges against me, and no one will. Our secrets are safe, as will this one be.” She looked over his shoulder, at the doorway to the room Nathalie was in. “Hey, hon. How are you feeling?” Gabriel stood up and hurried to Nathalie’s side. He made sure to not force himself too much, trying to hide the eagerness in his body to see her. 

“Are you okay?” he asked, his hand cupping her cheek softly. She pressed into his hand for just a moment, before pulling firmly away from him. 

“I think so. I feel like Hell, of course. Where are we?” She walked around him, unknowingly sitting next to the spot Gabriel had claimed. 

“Russia,” he replied, taking his own spot back. His urge to hold her hand was noted by just himself, but he didn’t allow it to come to fruition. His hands clasped in his lap, slipping into professionalism, as they all did. “I just got off the phone with Q, I think we’ve found Stigma’s location.” 

“Good. How far away?” 

“Only twenty kilometres,” he quickly replied, taking out a cheap map he had gotten from a gas station. He pointed out the area, in the middle of nothing. “Q found a man made structure right here, next to a pond shaped like their symbol.”

“You’d think organizations wouldn’t want so much branding,” Fianna chipped in.

“You’d think,” Nathalie agreed, and Gabriel forced himself to stay silent. Yet, Nathalie looked at him, as though she could hear his thoughts. “For a spy, you’re not able to keep your thoughts hidden well enough.” 

“I just wanted to tell you both that you don’t have to…” Nathalie didn’t let him finish. This may be his vendetta, but she wasn’t going to allow him to do this. 

“If you’re giving us an out, I’m going to torture you myself.” She glanced at Fianna before looking directly at Gabriel. “We’ve already committed treason. Emilie, though she may be under witness protection, is a Russian citizen. Fianna and I have already broken many laws, and possibly a treaty or two. We’re almost as good as dead unless we can present this in a good light, and even then, we could still be abandoned by the SIS. If we were going to leave, we would have already done it. We’re all agents here. Nothing we can do will make any of our minds worse than what we do on our daily jobs, anyway.” Her voice lowered, and she carefully leaned in to whisper softly to him. 

“I would’ve rejected anything that came across my desk that involved you, after Norway.” A pause, and she pulled back for a second before leaning in closer. “I wouldn’t have given you the show in Sweden, either.” He pulled away from her, shock written clear on his face. 

“You knew I was watching?” 

“Just because I was on vacation doesn’t mean I was on vacation from my habits.” She pulled away from him, her hand moving out to lace together. “We need a game plan to take down Stigma.” 

“Let’s get started.” 

“Do you remember Romania?” Nathalie asked, and he nodded. After a few moments of explanation to Fianna, they were quick to decide. Gabriel felt utterly useless in those moments, knowing he should have taken control, but was entirely unable to. Their agreements were firm and swift, Fianna and he offering some small suggestions and tweaks. They didn’t have much for weapons, either. 

“Since we had to ditch your weapons when Emilie took you, we only have what Gabriel and I had before, and of that… There’s not much. We’ll each have three knives, and two guns between the three of us.” Nine knives and two guns. 

“Don’t bring a gun to a knife fight,” Nathalie murmured, though she caught Gabriel’s smile. “So this is going to mostly be a stealth mission until we manage to find some of their guns for our own uses.” Gabriel had put the weapons on the table in front of them, and Nathalie took one of the guns, quickly checking for any catches, dirt, or debris. Nothing was out of sorts, and she looked between the two other agents. “I’m ready.” 

Gabriel took the other gun, defaulting to the brawn. Thankfully, he had a wiry strength no one guessed of him. 

“Me too,” Fianna said, and Gabriel stood, nodding. 

“Let’s go.” 

* * *

“What even is her plan?” Nathalie asked. Her volume was low as she could manage. It was difficult to plan in the back of this shitty truck, bumping along. They’d found a farmer who had been on his way that way, anyway. Thankfully, the sound of the road was covering her speculations with Gabriel and Fianna. 

“A heist,” Gabriel replied. “She’s going to transfer millions to her accounts, have those in her employ withdraw the money from banks all across the world at the same time, and shoot satellites down within the following ten minuets to ruin networks for phones and the internet.”

“Clever, if James’ lover hadn’t done that years ago,” Nathalie scoffed. Fianna chuckled a little. She leaned against Gaberiel’s arm, her head on his shoulder. “Wake me when we get there.” It may have been close on a map, but taking the roads would take upwards of an hour. Her following words were just to Gabriel. “Sleep is better than the pain I’m feeling in my collarbone.” He carefully moved his hand to lace with hers, the action almost awkward. He’d done it plenty with random women on his missions, in the past, but for some reason, doing it when his emotions were actually involved made the actions different. 

For a few moments, he could almost pretend nothing was bad, and they were just on a really unplanned vacation. 

She’d mentioned to him that she was more or less committing treason. He wanted to ask her if, if they survived, if she would be willing to abandon Britain and come to his home, to meet Adrien, to live a happy life with him and his son. He knew he’d never be able to ask that of her, of course. He’d never want a repeat of this exact situation, though he didn’t think Nathalie would. 

He didn’t want her to resent him. That was what his emotions ended up being; he loved her, and he didn’t want her to think he was hiding her, holding her back, or pinning her down. As he looked over her relaxed face, he knew that he wanted to give her the world. 

His son appeared in his mind, as he continued to think. He was going to have to go home and tell the one thing he had been alive for, that his mother was nothing more than a common criminal. She hadn’t been killed by a stranger, but instead, by his own father. How could he face the son he had with his most recent victim? How could he tell his son, who thought Emilie hung the stars, that his mother was terrible enough that he risked his life to save many countries? He couldn’t ruin his son’s visions like that.

His eyes met Fianna’s, and her voice was just louder than the truck. 

“She loves you.” Her mismatched eyes held truth. “And if you do a single thing to hurt her, the entirety of the SIS will come down on you. Starting with me. But we need to make it through this, first.” Her chin lowered slightly, and her gaze seemed to intensify. “And Soldier, if you let me of Nathalie die, hell would be a blessing. Am I understood?” It was a stupid trick to use on him, the authoritarian tone, the tone of a drill Sargent, one his body instantly responded to, the professionalism and lack of emotion sliding through his veins like icy water. 

“Yes, sir,” he replied, preparing himself for what they were going to have to do. 

* * *

Once they were within a mile of their target, they got the attention of the driver to stop and let them out. Their walk to the compound wasn’t easy, but they managed it. Fianna walked the perimeter, looking for cameras as Gabriel and Nathalie worked on their side; preparing the guns and waiting for their cue. Thankfully, when Fianna got back, there weren’t any cameras other than the one trained on the door. 

“How stupid could she be?” Fianna murmured, ensuring one last time her knives could be taken out pretty easily. She started to say something else, when they started to hear the roar of water being moved. They saw through the break in the trees that Emilie was starting to drain the pond, though that was being conservative. 

The vast amount of water was moving quickly, and they used the distraction to sneak up on the single guard outside and knock him out. Fianna disconnected the camera, and they were inside in moments. 

It was fairly pretty, if deserted, in the front room. Nathalie saw some fake flowers, as well as decorative vases. Footsteps started to approach, and Fianna looked at Nathalie. 

“Venice, ‘14?” A quick nod, and they were on either side of the doorway. Nathalie motioned for Gabriel to press against the wall, and when the guard walked past the doorway, he was quickly taken down by the women, a quick kick to the back of the knees, and a choke hold to cut off his airway long enough for him to pass out. 

Their silent march forward was punctuated by Gabriel having found the surveillance room, quickly taking control of the room. As they incapacitated, non-lethally, the guards, they picked up weapons, stashing three guns and taking the bullets from the rest. 

They were finally caught on the third level. Though, they were taken to their goal, after all their weapons had been taken. The control room was much higher tech than any of them had been expecting, full of beautiful computers and no wires out of place. If an investor had walked through, it would have been easy to mistake the room for another general technology business. 

Yet, as they were in front of Emilie, Gabriel intentionally spoke in french to the two women next to him. 

“Don’t speak.” 

“Oh, my darling, don’t try that on me.” The words were spoken in French as well, though it was now marred by a Russian accent. It was clear she tried to hide it in her daily life, but she was finally allowed to speak as her tongue wanted. She smiled at Gabriel, nonetheless. “Welcome, my dear. I’m a little shocked to see you here.”

Even as much as Gabriel hated who she was, and what she was currently standing for, he had to admit just how beautiful she looked. Golden hair up in a simple style, a beautiful black dress full of suggestive lace. She still was using her body to distract him. 

“I was hoping the shock of seeing me at your amour’s house would send you into a spiral, letting me do this in peace.” Her head shook. “Unsurprising that you weren’t a good boy.” She walked over to the desk that was clearly hers, and pulled a cherry from a dish that was sitting there. Even as she ate it and a little bit of red juice stained her lip, she was still breathtaking. “And you, my doll,” Emilie said, now walking up to Nathalie, her small hand gentle on the agent’s cheek. 

“Emilie. A pleasure, I suppose.” 

“It’s auspicious you’re here, you know.” It was then that there was a soft meow, one Nathalie instantly recognized. “He still recognizes you. I personally can’t wait to see if cats can actually cry, can you?” Emilie moved over to a small carrier, and took out a very familiar hairless cat. 

“You have my cat?” Nathalie asked, a look of disgusted disbelief on her face. Yet, her words showed nothing more than disinterest. 

“No, I have my darling Loki.” The cat didn’t seem to be hurt, though it was trying to get out Emilie’s arms. “We’re going to make sure he doesn’t disrupt anything, of course.” Emilie put the cat in the carrier again, though his claws started scratching to get out. 

“I feel like you could’ve gotten a better bargaining chip.” Only a week had passed since Emilie had stolen him, but the days had hurt without Al. 

“Oh, but I do!” The theatrics were increased, and she spun around, over to Gabriel. Her back pressed against his chest, confident that he wouldn’t try and hurt her, as well as the guard’s grip on Gabriel’s arms. Her hand moved to his throat, over her shoulder, and her head rested on his chest. “You fell in love with my husband. What better chip do I need?” Her words were met with laughter. Fianna was almost bending over at her words. “Do you have something to say, Inconsequential casualty?” The short woman nodded, holding a single finger up awkwardly. 

“I’m sorry, you just got so…” She trailed off as if she was trying to think of a word. She snapped, then. “Stereotypical! Self centered, burned woman! You weren’t happy with how he,” he thumb then jerked to Gabriel, next to her. “Was fucking you, and when you saw how she,” her thumb jerked to Nathalie, “was more than happy, you had to swoop in and act like you’re top bitch!” Nathalie was stunned into silence for a few moments, and Gabriel couldn’t help his confused look at Fianna. 

“There’s a reason stereotypes are so,” Emilie said in response, trying to keep her composure. 

“Sure, keep telling yourself that. Let’s see… You were up to them being in love being your leverage!” Emilie pressed her lips together, before continuing. It was clear that she was miffed for being mocked. 

“It doesn’t help how much Nathalie wears her heart on her sleeve, you know. Her play thing was the icing on the cake. As she was falling for him, she was giving me secrets through him. He’s always happy for an extra zero on his pay stub.” Emilie moved over to Gabriel, her finger moving along his jaw. “How does it feel to know your dick was in a bitch who was always the second choice?” Before anyone said anything else, her lips were pressed against Gabriel’s, her hand in his hair, keeping in place for moments, before he forced his head back, and hit her square in the nose. 

It was sudden enough that she fell down, her hand moving up to her nose, trying to stem the bleeding. She rubbed the blood away, before getting up. She shook her head. 

“You really forgot how to behave with me, didn’t you?” Emilie whispered to Gabriel. She stepped away, and looked between the three of them. “Now, which one of you should I kill first?” She scanned them all, ticking them off. “This one,” she pointed to Fianna, “isn’t anything important. She probably cares about you both equally, so killing her last will be obvious. But, I think I’ll kill Nathalie first. Your bleeding heart always did give you away, Gabriel.” Her head jerked for the guard to walk Nathalie out of the room, to the hallway. 

Nathalie struggled as the guard tried to get her out, everything about her having a sign of defeat and one last fight. But above all, finality, as she started to struggle against the guard, looking at Gabriel as much as she could, as her voice rang to him. 

“Gabriel, no. Know that I love you, I”m so sorry. This shouldn’t have happened, I really shouldn’t have gotten involved with you, fuck. I’m so stupid.” 

“Nathalie, I love you, you’ve always been who I should’ve loved first” He started, the door slammed shut. 

“How poetic, Gabriel,” Emilie said. “Your old love is the reason your current dies. I’m quite a fan.” A shot rang out, and Gabriel stiffened just enough to Fianna to see it, but only her. 

Fianna felt the shift in Gabriel, moments later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note: I am not the type of writer who ignores the four warnings provided. Of this story, the main characters are: Nath, Gabe, Adrien, and the OFC Fianna. Extrapolate as you will from that information, but please wait until chapter 12 to get really mad about the end of this chapter.


	11. Pretty Little Head

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pretty Little Head- Eliza Rickman

Nathalie’s body was burned into his mind’s eye, a sense of peace settling over her face, but that wasn’t how he wanted to see the peace on her face. 

He wasn’t quite sure just how everything had panned out. If he was honest, he was sure that he blacked out for a few minutes. 

But when everything came back in sharp relief, the red fading from the corners of his eyes, he realized that he was holding a gun that was empty, the guards who had been holding him were dead on the ground next to his feet. He looked around for a second, and none of her guards were moving. Fianna was standing above an Emilie who was crying, her hands on the back of her head, shaking with fear. Fianna had the barrel of the gun pressed to the woman’s head, a foot on her calf. No pressure was applied, other than to remind Emilie her foot was there. 

“Gabriel,” Emilie said, the foil to herself mere minutes ago. “Gabriel, please. Markus was forcing me to do this stupid song and dance. He was threatening you and Adr-” She wasn’t even allowed to finish Adrien’s name as Gabriel interrupted. 

“You don’t get to say his name.” The tone was frozen, as he knelt down to be eye level with her, though out of range of her hands. “You know I’m trained to spot liars miles away. I’ve gotten much better since we were married, you know.” His eyes lacked any emotion, a reflection of his voice. 

“Emilie, I would have given you the world. I would have ran away here, if you had asked.” He paused for just a second. “I would have given up the service, if you had only asked me to. I actually was on my way out. I had been drawing up paperwork to be converted to solely desk duty, so I could be home with you and our son every minute I possibly could. I just wanted to be with my wife, and our newborn son.” His gaze had not faltered. “And you knew that.” 

Her entire demeanor changed, at his words, and she changed from a woman coerced into doing unthinkable things, into the mastermind that Gabriel knew she was. 

“Of course I did.” She spat at him, the spittle landing on his cheek. Fianna walked up behind Emilie, and took out a knife from Emilie’s pocket that had been missed. It was clear how much she wanted to move to ensure her last defense was still intact. “Did you think I was really so stupid as to not recognize your hidden excitement? I could tell you were hiding something from me.” Her head shook, feeling the muzzles scrape against her scalp. Gabriel sighed, when he heard her words, and her actions. 

He straightened up with purpose, the gun moving away only to move to an easier, cleaner shot through her temple. 

“And yet, you’re still the one who is in this position.” Gabriel shook his head slightly. “Emilie, Viktoria, whatever name you’d wish for, you are a threat to…” He trailed off for a moment, before blowing some air out of his cheeks. “Well, any and every country I can think of.” 

“Do you fucking expect me to grovel for my life?” She glared at him from behind her eyelashes. “Do you expect me to beg to you that I was wrong and I shouldn’t be held accountable for my actions?” 

“No, Emilie.” His words were as soft as a lover’s whisper. “I have no interest in your words. I have no interest in your fake amends, anything. I just need two answers before you’re killed. If you don’t tell me, you get a few extra seconds of gloating before nothingness takes you. If you answer, I”ll know you at least miss your son.” 

“I’ve always loved you,” Emilie tried, once more. He shook his head, at her words. “

“Give me the real reason you left me and Adrien, our son. Why did you choose me, and have our son?” The fear was clear in her eyes. 

“You were an easy target,” she whispered. “And my husband found me.” The tears in her eyes didn’t sway his choice. He stood up, towering over her form. 

“If you hadn’t formed an attachment, I wouldn’t be here, you know. Your plan would have gone off perfectly, without a hitch.” He looked up at the ceiling, then. It was almost as if he was trying to decide if he had enough willpower to do this. 

His thinking was interrupted by a deep groan in the structure of the building. 

He didn’t hesitate any longer, and the bullet was through her skull, the red splattering on the beautiful white desk they had ended up next to. He didn’t feel the recoil, as the structure groaned again. He felt all the fight disappear from his body, thinking over the question of Nathalie being alive or not. He prayed she was, she had to be. There was no way he managed to luck out and find Nathalie, just to have her ripped away from him. He took a step to the door Nathalie had been forced through, before falling to the ground. He felt Fianna’s hand on his upper arm, grabbing him hard. SHe jerked him twice, and he finally turned in. 

“Get your dumbass up!” The french broke through his haze. More words he didn’t catch, and then, “Hawkmoth if you don’t get your fucking ass up, if you abandon your son because your love may be dead, the debris won’t be your end, my bullets will. And he will be in danger, you know this!” He didn’t move, and he very suddenly felt a sting against his cheeks, breaking him out of his haze. “Wake up!” Her hands forced his eyes to hers, and he realized she had no hesitance in her mind. 

If he dared to stay here, then she would put a bullet in his brain herself, and he’d never see his only son again. 

Every limb felt like it weighed tonnes, and he stood, only to take a step to the door Nathalie had gone through. Fianna growled something under her breath. She had Nathalie’s cat in one hand, not intending to leave Al behind. It would be a bitch to get him through customs, but she would manage it somehow. 

“Come on!” They got through the door, only to see blood on the floor. There was a security guard bleeding near the pool, but there was no way to tell if it was from him or someone else. 

Nothing clicked with Gabriel from that moment on. His mind switched to autopilot. Fianna could have been telling him he was meeting Nathalie in a day, and he wouldn’t have heard her words. Unless he saw her again, nothing was real. He didn’t know what he was going to tell Adrien, either. There was nothing he could tell his son that would make any sense. He had lost more than his son knew was at stake. He didn’t know how to tell him that his mother’s blood was on his own hands, as well as the woman he had been hoping to introduce Adrien to. 

There was nothing in his world that made sense. 

Fianna guided him all the way home, over the airplane ride, to his home, something she figured out through Q. 

He was entirely lost, nothing was looking familiar. Fianna got him to his apartment, and thankfully, Adrien was there already. He had to get some clothes, or something. None of them cared why, and Fianna got Gabriel into his living room, sitting him down on his sofa. 

“Stay,” Fianna instructed, no room for argument, and when she turned around to Adrien, she was playing the perfect ditsy coworker. “God, when your father said he was a lightweight, I really should have listened to him, eh?” She gave a laugh that wasn’t quite fake, and wasn’t quite perfect. Her Scottish accent was replaced with perfectly fluid and sane French.

“I didn’t know he was,” Adrien replied, sheepish. 

“Come now. I promised him dinner if I was right, but I don’t think you all have what I need to cook properly!” When they left to get groceries for dinner, Gabriel found he was only able to move enough to lay down. He noticed a speck of blood on his shoe, however, as well as some of the sleeve of his coat. He had to get up and change out of that, knowing it would cause more questions that he could answer.

Fianna found him in his room when they returned, Gabriel sitting down on his bed, unfocused on everything. She switched to English, knowing Adrien hadn’t learned that from their walk. 

“I told him I’m from another branch, and you’re just being a gentleman. He won’t suspect anything.” He didn’t respond, until she spoke. “If you trust Nathalie, trust me. I need you to stay sane for just a few days, alright? She always had things set out in advance.” He still didn’t say anything, and she left him alone. He heard her and Adrien talking, and the scent of food drifted through the halls,and Gabriel realized he hadn’t eaten in at least a day. 

He walked down to sit in the living room, and he heard some of the conversation. 

“...No, darling kitten. I think your papa needs some help tonight, so we are making it just for him. It would be sweet, would it not?” She ruffled his hair right when Gabriel walked by. “I think tomorrow, you should show me some of Paris, no? Grenoble is beautiful, but we are not as famous as Paris, hm?” 

Gabriel sat on the sofa, listening to how normal their conversation was, and felt his emotions leave him in a sigh, the patterns in the ceiling mocking him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for how short this is- y'all are gunna love me next chapter though


	12. Losing My Religion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Losing My Religion- REM

“Sleep well, Adrien,” he had said, after they had all had dinner together. He hadn’t had much choice, knowing how late it was. Fianna hadn’t pressed him to stay up, and he grabbed one of the bottles of liquor he had for nights like tonight. It was when he was in his room that he realised that it was a bottle of gin, the only alcohol that Nathalie had carried in her entire apartment. He didn’t mind, of course. It was a way to feel closer to her. 

The hole in his chest hadn’t gotten any better since getting home. He was able to ignore it for a short amount of time, of course, but that was all. 

His balcony was finally getting some use, as he sat down on one of the two chairs, the bottle and a shot glass being set down next to him on the table between them.

The gin burned down his throat, and gabriel took a deep breath to try and counteract it. He wasn’t going to count these shots, unable to focus enough to care. His observations were shit, and he didn’t even notice when Fianna had joined him. One moment, he was alone, the next, she was there. He knew just why. To prevent him from being too stupid. 

He knew she caught his realization. 

“You’re not going to like what I have to say,” he heard her say. It had to be a couple hours later. “But I need you to fake sanity for a few days. You can tell Adrien whatever you want… But I need you to fake sanity. That is an order, Agent... From Nathalie.” 

He wasn’t sure when he made it into bed, but when he woke up, his son was in his bed, and it was clear that they both needed to have the one constant in their lives near them. He didn’t realize that his son had noticed how badly he was acting.

* * *

“Gabriel, you need to bloody focus! I’m not going to allow you to fall into depression-” They were in his room, and what had started out as a casual conversation was turning into metaphorically pulling teeth with Fianna. It was clear that she knew something, but she wouldn’t tell him no matter how much he asked and begged. Her words instantly sent his hackles up, however. 

“Let me? Fianna, I have known you less than a week, you don’t have the privilege of being able to ‘let’ me do a damn thing.” Her eyes flattened, her face turning expressionless. 

“I’ve killed scarier men than you, Gabriel. You have a son. If you trust Nathalie, as I do, you will put on a fucking smile in the morning before he and I leave, tell us to have fun, and turn down coming with as you have a hangover. Wait until noon. Am I clear?” Gabriel wanted to continue arguing, but they heard Adrien’s voice from the living room. 

“Dad? Ms Chansten?” They managed to keep themselves from arguing further, and Fianna’s voice rang out loud enough for Adrien to pick up on what she was saying. Her entire demeanor changed, and Gabriel was slightly stunned by how well she could fake everything. It was clear how she had lived as long as she had. 

“I’ll be leaving, unfortunately, by then. I think Corporate may be forcing another person on you, if you’re willing.” 

“Who’s to say I will?” he murmured, before Adrien walked into the room. 

“Now, M. Agreste, how is your son much taller than me, at only 15, hm?” She gave a laugh, genuine sounding, but Gabriel knew it wasn’t her real laugh. She was acting as if she hadn’t been threatening him moments before. It was a little bit of a surprise. He looked to his son, who clearly looked a bit sheepish. 

“Dinner was wonderful last night, Mme. Chansten,” Adrien said, smiling up at her. It was clear that he wasn’t sure just how to act with her, and she instantly laughed, her hand moving to his shoulder, reassuring him for a moment. 

“Thank you, Adrien. I couldn’t have done it without you, of course.” She mussed his hair, and he gave her a small, but goofy smile. “But, of course, we have plans today, no? What will you be showing me?” 

“I… I don’t know.” Fianna looked between the two men, knowing that Gabriel would want to talk to Adrien. 

“Well, I’m going to go get ready. Why don’t you talk with your father for a little bit and help figure out what would be a good destination, hm? Excuse me, Gentlemen.” Fianna left with plenty of grace, and Gabriel motioned for Adrien to sit down on the bed next to him. 

“Is something wrong, Father?” The words hung far longer than they ever should have. 

“Something is,” Gabriel confessed to Adrien, looking at his clasped hands. Ho was he going to phrase this in a way that wouldn’t hurt Adrien even more? He wasn’t going to lie, even at the risk of national security. Adrien should know. Gabriel would have wanted to know. 

“What is it?” 

“This last trip…” He paused, pressing his lips together. “This last trip, I ran into your mother.” Gabriel moved one of his hands to take his son’s, trying to offer a little bit of reassurance. “A lot of things were put into perspective for me, on this trip.”

“Father, you’re mistaken. Mother’s dead. She’s been gone for years. She…” Adrien paused, unsure how to say what he meant. “Left us right after I was born, right?” Gabriel shook his head. 

“Your mother didn’t leave immediately. You were three when she left.”

“But…” 

“Emilie faked her death. She faked everything with us.” The hand he was holding was pulled away. “Your biological mother didn’t see us anything more than pawns for her and her real husband to use. See, she was in witness protection.” A lie. “And she did start to have feelings for me, enough to have you. After a few years, however, her husband found her again, and she decided to run away with him to the UK. They were on their way back to Russia when I ran into them at my friend’s house.”

“Father, you must be wrong.” The words stung. 

“She responded to the name Emilie. We spoke… It was her. She didn’t want to leave you alone, but she had to run. If her husband had found her, then she knew that those who wanted her dead anyway were going to find her shortly, anyway. It was hard for her to leave, but she knew it was in our best interest. She wanted to save you.” Total lies, and Adrien was staring at the floor. 

“Dad… She didn’t.” The immediate call out on his lies hurt, though he resigned himself very quickly 

“No. That's not why she ran, but I don’t want you to lose any image you have of her. 

“I don’t, father. She… Left so long ago that I don’t even remember her anymore. She chose to go back to the man she’d been in love with for years, and that was her choice. Not mine. You stayed here, with me.” He looked at Gabriel, and the man could see the tears in his son’s eyes. He instantly pulled his son into his son into his arms, pressing his own face to his son’s hair. 

“I’m always going to be here for you, son,” Gabriel whispered. “I’ll fight tooth and nail, I’ll give up my own life, before i allow any harm to come to you.” The words were met with a sob, and Gabriel pressed a kiss to his blonde hair. The first time he had kissed his son’s head in years. He remembered when he would do it every night, and smell the scent of his hair, the perfect calming scent. If Gabriel could have bottled it, he would have, and used it whenever he was afraid of death. “I’m always going to protect you,” he whispered, a promise more than he could have ever offered before. 

Adrien knew he still loved his mother, in as much as one would love a great grandparent who had passed away before conception. Emilie was clearly important in his life, that wasn’t something he was going to try and hide. He loved her, yes, but she wasn’t a part of his life, anyway. She had given birth to him, but her choice had been to leave him alone. He knew that his mother had left, and though it hurt and he wanted nothing more than to run away and never return, he could never live without the support his father provided. They may not be perfect together, but their dysfunction managed to meld perfectly. 

Adrien still loved his mother, yes, but only because his father had loved him. That was where the affection stopped. He had no sympathy for the woman who had hurt him in so many ways that he was unable to muster any sympathy for her. She had chosen her path, and that was that. 

But he felt his father’s tears drop into his hair, and his arms tightened around his father’s torso. 

“I love you, father. I… Thank you for not leaving.” The words broke Gabriel’s heart more than Adrien could have ever imagined. If Adrien knew that the only reason Gabriel was still alive was his son, he was certain that they would have both been unable to continue with the world as it was. 

But Gabriel couldn’t help flashing back to the thought of Nathalie, lying prone in a hallway, buried undertones of wreckage, unable to be found until her bones had turned to dust, nothing in the world perfect anymore. She would never have children. She would never meet him again, would never go on another mission. Not only had he lost Emilie, he had also lost his chance with Nathalie. 

“Papa…” Adrien said, and Gabriel pulled away from his son, so he was able to speak. “Can we have lunch together? After Mme. Chansten and I come back, that is.”

“Of course,” Gabriel agreed, moving his hand to squeeze Adrien’s for just a moment. 

“Are you going to be okay?” he asked, after a moment more. 

“I think I will, Adrien. Are you?” His son looked at him, and offered a small smile. 

“I will be, Father. I’m going to go get ready, okay?” Gabriel nodded, and let his son leave. Gabriel moved to lay down on his bed, wrapping the comforter around him, despite not being cold. He had no one to impress, and really, all he wanted was to disappear into this bed, for the pain to stop. It wasn’t enough he was grieving his wife, but he had to grieve the loss of a world that he always hoped he would manage to find again. A woman who would help him through his pain, and ease his world to a normalcy that would only bring happiness. 

He had to tell himself that it would have never worked. It was the only solution, in reality. They were both agents, and she never could have been a wife in a normal life. She would have never wanted it, right? How could she have wanted a broken, widowed man, with a son? She would have wanted someone who was free to build a life together. 

“Alright, my darling guide,” he heard down the hallway, Fianna’s voice. “I need to just tell your father we will be going, and we are free to explore!” Her footsteps were down the hall, and the door cracked open. He didn’t even care to move at her voice. 

“We’re leaving, Gabriel. I’ve set an alarm for 11:55 on your phone. Go to the door at that time, curl up on the sofa if you need. Adrien and I won’t be back until 7. You’ll need the… alone time.” Her footsteps retreated, and he lost himself to silence for a while. 

* * *

When the alarm went off, however, he debated not moving to the living room. He debated staying in bed, and ignoring whatever it was Fianna had requested of him. He wanted to ignore everything, and grieve. If Nathalie was still with him, he knew that everything would be ok. She could take care of what was needed, and he wouldn’t be feeling any of this as severely as he actually was. 

Yet, he did get out of bed, only grabbing his phone on his way to the living room. He had little interest in making himself comfortable, but it wasn’t needed. Only moments after sitting down on the sofa, he heard a firm, solid wrap on the door, and though he had a desire to let the person leave, something about the rhythm grabbed his attention. If Fianna had trusted Nathalie’s plan, then so was he. He had to… right?

He stood up after a few more seconds, forcing his body to go to the door, and he looked through the peephole. His entire body stiffened, looking through the tiny tube of glass. It was only a moment before the door was flung open, and his suspicions were confirmed. 

Nathalie stood in front of him, a hoodie over her hair, her outfit nondescript. His hand circled around her upper arm, jerking her into the apartment. She moved with grace, nonetheless, stepping into his apartment and standing next to the door, in front of the wall. The door was slammed closed and locked, and Gabriel didn’t waste a second moving his lips to hers, his body pressed flush against her, pinning her fully to the wall. Her arms wrapped around his neck, their bodies close. 

The kiss seemed to last forever and no time at all, her soft moan breaking it all. Their foreheads pressed against each other for a few moments, as they caught their breath. Nathalie rolled her shoulder, and let her arm move to hang at her side. He caught a peek down her hoodie, and saw a deep bruise over her collarbone. She hadn’t had it looked at, but he could make sure it was set properly after his questions were answered. HIs voice was softer than he’d expected coming out of his own lips. 

“I thought you were dead,” he whispered, his fingers moving to push the hood down, and push her hair back. “I thought you weren’t coming back to me, Nathalie. 

“I had to make you think that,” she replied. “Stigma isn’t dead, Gabriel. You’re not at risk, you stumbled into everything. I scrubbed every trace of you, but she had been monitoring me for a while. My boss told me to disappear for a few months. I have some money, but I have to pretend to be dead.” 

“How long, exactly?”

“I don’t know,” she replied, their gazes locking again. Their mouths opened for just a moment, before they were pressing their lips back together, Nathalie’s moan soft against his lips. Once they broke the kiss, however, Gabriel finally replied. 

“Good. I don’t want you away from me for more than a half out for the next few months.” Her lips instantly quirked up, hearing that. She had no doubt he was going to make good on those words, either. 

“Then you’re going to provide entertainment for that time, right?” she whispered to him. 

“I have some ideas.” 

“Fianna was going to take care of Adrien for a few hours yet,” she whispered. 

“What about your collarbone?” 

“It’s just a sprain, Mr Agreste,” she replied, her hand moving to cup his unshaven cheek. It slipped back into his hair, after a few moments, combing through the tangle. He pulled away from her, and she quickly toed off her shoes. “Give me the two minuet tour, and we’re ending at your room,” she said, instructing him with ease. Gabriel didn’t want to admit that he was glad she was. 

He had lived his years thinking he was lost at sea, looking for Emilie, his beacon. He had been wrong; Nathalie was his lighthouse. He never should have thought she was anything less, a perfect encapsulation of everything he found himself wanting and needing in his life. She was perfection incarnate.

Gabriel moved to kiss her chest, lifting her up after a moment, quickly telling her where everything was. Yet, when he found his bedroom, he moved her to the bed, laying her body down with all the care of someone who was getting their last night with their love. His lips moved to hers with reverence, a hand moving to her hair, lacing with gentle movements. 

When he pulled away, however, he looked her in the eyes, direct as he could be. His voice dropped an octave, his words showing more truth than they’d ever been willing to offer before. 

“I don’t want you to leave my side again, Nathalie,” he murmured. “I wanted to bring you into my life since the first second that I saw your face. You’re perfect, and just what I’ve been missing in my life.” Her own response was to lace into his unstyled hair, pulling him back for a kiss as she pressed her body against his. It was clear that she wanted nothing more than for him to stay with her for the rest of her life. 

“I don’t want to leave,” she replied. Her voice was soft, but it was though she was making a promise only the two of them would ever be able to hear again. Yet, the soft kiss that she pressed to his lips was broken when she moved her hands to the hem of his shirt, pulling it over his shirt. He didn’t let her stay clothed much longer, however, moving his own hands to the hem of her shirt, his lips following his hands as he kissed a line up her stomach. He pressed each kiss to a different scar, and she couldn’t help curving into his lips, her breathing quickening. His words were soft when he was level with her face again. 

“For the rest of my life, and yours,” he whispered to her. She nodded, before wrapping her legs around his hips, and twisting them so she was on top of him, his back flat on the bed. Her own kisses started to follow his earlier pattern, until his hand moved to her cheek, and she leaned into it. “You’re beautiful,” he promised. 

Their clothes were soon on the ground, kisses pressed against the other’s bodies as able to, touches gentle. They found each other’s mouths again as Nathalie slipped Gabriel’s cock into her, his hands tight on her hips. Their eyes locked, and Gabriel thought she was breathtaking as she bit her lip, her hips starting to slowly move, hands moving to lace with his. 

“You fit perfectly in me, Gabriel,” she whispered to him, before softly moaning. Her muscles tensed, causing him to groan. 

“You surround me so perfectly, Nathalie,” he replied, unable to help a thrust up into her. Yet, his arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her to lay down, still deep inside her. His arms moved under her shoulders, bracing himself over her, as he slowly, yet deeply thrusted into her. “Everything about you is perfect, is exactly what I’ve ever wanted or needed.” She couldn’t help her whimper, and time lost meaning again. 

* * *

Nathalie felt herself come to shortly later, looking at the clock on the wall. Six in the evening, and she stirred. Gabriel’s arm was over her waist, and nothing could have ever felt better to her in the world. Everything felt right to her, from the dark light streaming in from the sunset, to the sounds of life outside the window. She knew she could be okay with living there for the rest of her life. She knew she’d be alright with anywhere, so long as she was with Gabriel. 

She carefully rotated in his arms, her hand moving to his chest, fingers running through the sparse hair that she found, landing over scars more times than she could honestly say was a mistake. Everything about him was perfection, even when he stirred and smiled at her, a small hum going through him.

“Hello, my darling,” he whispered. 

“Hello,” she replied, tapping his nose. 

“Adrien’s going to be back soon, you know.” 

“We should get dressed.” 

“I’d love for you to meet him,” he whispered, though they didn’t get out of bed for another half hour.


	13. Save My Soul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Save My Soul- Big Bad Voodoo Daddy  
> The Touch by Anne Sexton  
> Then all this became history.  
> Your hand found mine.  
> Life rushed to my fingers like a blood clot.  
> Oh, my carpenter,  
> the fingers are rebuilt.  
> They dance with yours.  
> They dance in the attic and in Vienna.  
> Not even death will stop it,  
> death shedding her blood.  
> Nothing will stop it, for this is the kingdom  
> and the kingdom come.  
> 

“Hello,” Adrien said, looking at Nathalie. His eyes shot between Nathalie and Gabriel quickly, and it was clear that there was something more than just an office relationship between then. 

“I’m glad to see you made it safe,” Fianna said, smiling at the two with a knowing look in her eyes. “Adrien and I found things for dinner, to treat you both. My darling boy, would you mind putting up the food until we are ready to cook?” He nodded, and hurried to put away the desserts and other items. Fianna then turned to Nathalie, and embraced her, tightly. “And that you’re alive, Nathalie.”

“Hello,” Adrien said, looking at Nathalie. His eyes shot between Nathalie and Gabriel quickly, and it was clear that there was something more than just an office relationship between then. 

“I’m glad to see you made it safe,” Fianna said, smiling at the two with a knowing look in her eyes. “Adrien and I found things for dinner, to treat you both. My darling boy, would you mind putting up the food until we are ready to cook?” He nodded, and hurried to put away the desserts and other items. Fianna then turned to nathalie, and embraced her, tightly. “And that you’re alive, Nathalie.”

“Thank you for taking care of him,” she replied. 

“Of course.” Fianna pressed a kiss to her cheek, and pulled away all the way, before looking between them both. “I will be leaving promptly after dinner. I’ll tell Chris not to worry about when you’re coming back, since you won’t be.” 

“I’m going to…” Nathalie started, until Fianna gave her a look. 

“No, my love, you won’t be. And that’s ok. I need someone new to haze and corrupt anyway.” Fianna smiled faintly, and squeezed Nathalie’s hand. “Now, you better go get to know his son, as I go pack. I have a feeling it won’t be long until he’s your son as well.” Neither of the other agents knew how to respond to her, and it was clear she hit the nail on the head. “Excuse me, you two.” She walked to gather her things, and Nathalie did follow her advice after a few moments. 

“Adrien,” she said, feeling how awkward her words were in her mouth. “Would you like to tell me about you?” God, she hadn’t had to talk to a child in years. Yet, he smiled at her, a little unsure of what to do, but seemingly okay with the conversation. 

“I’m 15,” he started, trying to figure out what it was she wanted to hear. “I love cooking and baking, and I just learned how to make macaroons,” he then continued, and shrugged. “What about yourself?” 

“Well, My name’s Nathalie,” she said, after a moment. “I was working at the British branch of your father’s company, but I’ve been asked to transfer over here. Your father offered for me to stay here whilst I was looking for an apartment.” A small lie, inthe end, but she couldn’t very well tell him just what was going on, could she? He wouldn’t exactly like to hear about how his mother almost killed her; she was sure Gabriel had already told him about what his mother had done in some way. He held the eyes of someone who’s trust had recently been broken, but he would clearly persevere. 

“What’s your favourite food?” Adrien asked, and Nathalie was surprised just how quickly she managed to slip into his conversation with honesty and laughter. Gabriel didn’t join them, and though Nathalie was curious why, she didn’t search him out. It wasn’t for an hour, with Nathalie slowly becoming comfortable with Adrien, her French becoming better than before, that Gabriel did show back into the room. 

“Excuse me, you two,” he said, and set a cat carrier onto the island. “Nathalie, Fianna said you’d be happy with this.” He opened the door, and a slightly thinner Al walked out of the carrier. It took just a moment until he looked at Nathalie, and ran over to her in seconds. She instantly picked him up, clearly changing her demeanor. Any awkwardness or insecurities flew out of the window, as she took Al and spun around with him, his body pressed to her torso. 

“My sweet kitty!” She instantly said, and pressed her cheek to his head. He was chittering at her, demanding to know why he had been moved out of the apartment, stolen by his sitter. “Oh, you have been through so much, haven’t you?” He pressed to her lips, then her chin, scenting her and pressing for more attention. 

She only came back to herself when Gabriel chuckled, seeing her on the floor with Al in her lap, talking between themselves. The blush that instantly flared up on her cheeks forced her to pet Al for comfort, trying to gain some dignity back. 

Not that it mattered, as Gabriel moved over to her, and pet Al’s head. He sniffed him for a moment, pressed into the hand, and then got back to paying attention to Nathalie. 

“Who’s that?” Adrien asked suddenly, looking between the woman and the cat. 

“This is my cat, Alcaprapth,” Nathalie explained. “I… Wasn’t expecting to see him for some time.”

“Fianna brought him,” Gabriel explained softly. 

“Would you like to come pet him, Adrien?” He nodded, and walked over to the two of them, letting the cat sniff him and decide if he liked the human or not. It was proven he did when he pressed into Adrien’s hand, purring with all the attention. “Here,” Nathalie said, moving Adrien’s hand to scratch Al’s favourite spot, the purring increasing even more. 

“He’s really sweet,” Adrien said, almost in surprise. 

“Isn’t he?” Nathalie said, smiling at Adrien. She was comfortable, looking between the two men infront of her. After a moment of hesitation, she took Gabriel’s hand, cementing the relationship to Adrien. But, he didn’t say a word, in favor of merely petting the cat. 

Nathalie was okay with this. She could more than live here, she knew she could thrive. Stigma was getting cleaned up by MI6 and MI5, and she was certain that DSGE would be taking care of anyone who got into France. 

Gabriel met her eyes, and gave her the smallest of smiles. Her own returned his, and she looked to her cat. Yeah, she could live like this. So long as Gabriel was next to her side, and his son near them both, she knew she could live like this. 

* * *

  
  


Nathalie stretched, unable to let go of her nightly routine. She’d officially started the process to become a French citizen, and though it was taking much longer, she had had many meetings to explain herself, and her choice. They didn’t quite believe it was love, and thus, she had to do much more paperwork than before. She didn’t give any national secrets that weren’t public knowledge anyway, but whenever they pressed, her lips closed. 

They didn’t even know torture, and they knew she wouldn’t talk even if they did use that. She was all but denied today, something she didn’t quite know how to circumvent. Q was no longer an option, and she wasn’t going to live there illegally. Another languid stretch, reaching down to her toes, and she straightened to feel a toned chest against her back. Her instincts instantly kicked in when she felt two hands on either side of her hips, and she grabbed the hand on her right, twisting around and pushing forward, Gabriel finding himself spawned face first on the bed. 

Yet, she heard laughter from him, as he turned around to face her, still on the bed. He was wearing his sleep bottoms already, and he watched as her brows furrowed and a frown appeared on her lips. 

“Come here, my darling,” he said, offering her his hands as he sat up. She took one hand, only for him to grab the other, and pull her to straddle his waist, lacing their fingers properly. “I have a question for you.” 

“And you need me on top of you for it?” she gently teased, putting their hands above his head and gently kissing his neck. Yet, he used his strength to put their hands under her shoulders, and gently pushed her up. 

“No, but you fit so perfectly above me.” The cheesy line made her shake her head, but she didn’t say anything. “I know I’ve made declarations about how much I love you,” he started. “You know I would be willing to lay my life down if you requested.” 

“Which I won’t.” 

“But I would. You have been living with Adrien and I for a while now. I wanted to ask you something.” He let go of one of her hands, and stretched to reach under the pillow, grabbing something he hid too quickly for her to see. Not that it mattered, however, as moments later, she was presented with a beautifully simple black diamond on a silver band. She looked from it, to him. 

“Gabriel…”

“Nathalie, I would be honored to take your hand in marriage, if you’ll have me. Only stipulations are that you love Adrien and I until the end, and you don’t leave us.” 

“Gabriel Agreste,” she softly started. “I’d be honored to become your wife, and Adrien’s mother. If he’ll accept me, of course.” Gabriel took her hand, and slid the band onto her finger, before gently kissing her hand. She didn’t let him stay so for long, pressing her lips to his, letting her body press against his, her hands sliding along him to cup his cheeks. They broke after a few moments, and she couldn’t help her wide smile, seeing him looking at her. 

“I love you,” she whispered to him, her forehead moving to his, her eyes closing. 

“I love you,” he replied, moving his fingers over her clothed spine, before slipping his fingers under the clothing, pressing his skin to her. 

“I’ve never been more comfortable with someone,” she admitted, and he pressed her closer. 

“Nor I,” he agreed. His fingers ran over the scars he found on her back, before gently pressing a kiss to her forehead. 

“We’re going to be okay,” she whispered in a promise. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me? Showing back up after a month with a super shitty chapter? It's more likely than you think!   
> But honestly I"m sorry for entirely disappearing. My weather's been changing, and my physical health has been degrading to the point it can hurt to type on some days, and work has been kicking my ass even more. I appreciate all the patience everyone's giving me.


	14. Hard Habit to Break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> OK I'm sorry for totally abandoning this for months and for coming back with a super short small chapter but yay conclusions!

Nathalie couldn’t help the sigh that fell from her lips as Gabriel’s lips trailed down her chest, slowly following a trail only he saw. Her eyes were closed, and her body relaxed, with his fingers trailing over her sides. After a moment, one of her hands moved to the back of his head, running through the tousled strands. She managed to make him still by lacing her fingers through his hair, and she urged his head so she could look at him. 

“I never thought we’d be here,” Nathalie murmured to him. “The most I’d been hoping for was a quick fuck in the hotel rooms between assignments.” Yet, her smile betrayed the joke, and he moved up her body to kiss the skin under her breast. 

“And here we are,” Gabriel murmured, taking her free hand and kissing the skin below her wedding band. “Engaged, happy…” He smiled a little at her, until she moved her hand to his neck, pulling him a little closer, looking into his eyes. 

“I never thought I’d find this happiness,” she admitted to him, her fingers running through his hair. 

“I didn’t think I would, either.” Gabriel leant down to kiss her chest, and Nathalie couldn’t help her soft laugh, arching up slightly to press their bodies together. 

“We only have a few days left alone,” Nathalie pointed out to him. “And then we go on honeymoon… And we become a family.”

“I think we already are,” Gabriel pointed out, a soft hum coming from him. Nathalie allowed her smile to appear on her lips. 

“I think we are, too.” 

* * *

“Do you take Gabriel Agreste to be your lawfully wedded husband?” 

“I do,” Nathalie promised, her head lifting slightly. His smile was gentle, and for once, meant. 

“And do you take Nathalie Sancoeur to be your lawfully wedded wife?” The minister asked Gabriel. 

“I do,” Gabriel replied, nodding a tiny bit. Nathalie couldn’t help the smile on her lips. 

“Then I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.” Their lips met in a firm pressure, Gabriel dipping Nathalie just slightly. They were mostly lost in the other, until Fianna’s voice brought them back. 

“Cop a feel!” Nathalie broke the kiss with a laugh, moving her head to Gabriel’s shoulders. He was laughing along, happy as could be. 

Fianna caught the bouquet that night, and winked at the woman she’d come with that night. 

* * *

“Just there, Gabriel,” Nathalie moaned, bent over the sofa of their hotel room. She didn’t have to wait long until Gabriel was leaning over her, his lips attached to the back of her neck, his moan soft but still there. 

“Your cunt is perfect,” he moaned, one hand moving to her breast, the other to her clit, working her up as well as he could. One of her hands moved to his, covering her breast a little better. 

“Your cock is filling me just right,” she replied, a breathy moan coming out of her lips. Their exertion was soon finished with him filling her, before moving them both to the sofa, keeping her close, and the throw blanket getting pulled tight around them. 

They spent the rest of the day in the sea, and enjoying the other’s body.

* * *

“Fucking morning sickness.” The three years since they had gotten married had gone quicker than she’d expected. She took some toilet paper and wiped her mouth, throwing it into the toilet. The mouthwash was swished quickly, before spitting it into the sink. She looked like a mess. 

She jumped and had almost turned around with a metal nail file when she realized it was just Gabriel’s arms circling her. 

“Sorry, I know you’re still getting through your training.” She softly laughed. 

“It’s worse, now that I have a reason to protect myself.” 

“Are you almost ready to go?” 

“Yeah,” Nathalie said, smiling at him. “Adrien’s already texted me to make sure I was alright.” 

“I think he’s just as excited for this baby as we are.” 

“Yeah… me too.” Nathalie smiled at him in the mirror. 

* * *

“ _ Twins _ ?!” Nathlaie yelled out, clearly scared and shocked. “How the fuck did you miss Twins on my ultrasound?!”

“Ma’am, please calm down,” the doctor said. “This will be alright, we need to get these kids out of you.” The swears she responded with were legendary to the doctors. The tortures that she threatened were too creative to have been pulled from her imagination. 

But, they got the kids out of her quickly. 

* * *

“Look at them,” Nathalie murmured, holding her son as Gabriel held their daughter. 

“They’re both beautiful,” Adrien responded, offering his finger to his young sister. 

“Yes they are,” Gabriel replied, moving to take Nathalie’s hand for a moment. “Would you like to hold your sister, Lorraine?” Gabriel asked Adrien. He quickly nodded, and took her into his arms, carefully holding her as he needed to be. 

* * *

The years passed quickly as Lorraine and Tyler grew up. Adrien brought them to their first day of preschool with Nathalie and Gabriel, the family deeply happy with how the years had been progressing. They both still had night terrors, but a lot of their training had been worked through. 

For once, life was kind to the two. 

* * *

Watching Lorraine and Tyler finish college was a point of pride to everyone. The two had been top of their class, often studying with their elder brother, who helped advance their education much quicker than it should have. None of them ended up minding too much, just happy to all have had time together. Something Nathalie and gabriel were too familiar with not having enough of. 

* * *

“I don’t know anything!” Nathalie sat straight up in bed, her body slick with sweat, her eyes darting around the room for danger. Gabriel instantly was up with her, his hand moving to her shoulder. 

“Hey, you’re safe. You’re with me,” Gabriel’s hand gently moved over her sweaty arm, trying to calm her down. “You’re with me,” he repeated.

“I’m with you,” Nathalie repeated, moving to press into his shoulder, taking a deep breath. 

“That’s right,” he whispered, tucking her head under his. “You’re safe,” he promised. They stayed like that for an uncountable amount of time, until the sun started to come up, turning the sky grey. 

“I need to clean myself up,” Nathalie whispered. 

“Let’s take a bath,” was Gabriel’s response, helping her out of bed, to a robe. He grabbed everything they needed, before filling the bath as Nathalie rested on the toilet. 

Their bodies both accepted the warm liquid, both of them calming down enough to be able to go back to sleep, in the bed, holding onto each other. 

* * *

The night that Nathalie fell asleep, and didn’t wake, was the night that killed Gabriel's soul. He lived on for years longer, seeing all three of their kids grow. He met their grandkids, but not even he was strong enough to meet their great grandkids. Gabriel passed away ten years after Nathalie to nearly the hour. Their life had built more friends than they’d ever had before; people from all around came. Friends and enemies, to see if they were both dead like the papers had claimed. 

Their love became infamous in both their organizations, long after they died. 

Many spies would stop by their graves when they were near, just to read the inscriptions on their graves.

_ To find love is to find yourself  _

_ To find yourself is to be able to find your love. _


End file.
